


Sibling Rivalry

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama/Romance, M/F - Category, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 05:58:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old enemy from Blair's past returns, threating all of his loved ones.<br/>Sequel to His Father's Son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sibling Rivalry

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are Regina, Katlyn, and Adrienne. The rest are owned by either Pet Fly Productions or Rysher Entertainment. 

With that out of the way, I would like to thank Kay Lynn, Gabrielle, and Yvonne for hanging in there and beta reading this sucker. If there are still mistakes it is totally my fault. 

This is a sequel to His Father's Son. It might help if you read that first, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. 

The biblical references are from the Song of Solomon 2:3-4, 16-17; 5:10-16 paraphrase. NOTE: Anat is an ancient war goddess of the Canaanites. 

## Sibling Rivalry

by Brandy  


Blair smiled as he watched his lover sleep. He was so beautiful. Did he really realize how exquisite he was? He watched as Jim slowly woke up. 

"Hey, beautiful. How did you sleep?" Blair asked as Jim opened his eyes. He stared as Jim blushed slightly. 

"Good morning, Blair," Jim said softly as he pulled Blair in close. He knew he was blushing , but he couldn't help it. He had never considered himself anything other than "well built", especially after he started losing his hair. 

"Hmmm, do you know what you remind me of?" Blair said as he lazily traced a design on his lover's chest. 

"What?" 

"A long time ago, I took it upon myself to memorize most of the Song of Solomon. There are passages there that remind me of you," Blair said with a smile. 

"'As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.'" 

"Later, there is another passage that would describe you, I think." 

"'My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold. His arms are rounded gold. His body is ivory work. His legs are alabaster columns. His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and my friend.'" 

"Whoa, Chief! I ...," Jim tried to interrupt. He could feel a blush starting somewhere in the vicinity of his toes. 

"Shhh, let me finish." Blair pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. 

"'My beloved is mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies. Until day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle, or a young stag upon rugged mountains.'" 

"I don't know what to say," Jim said quietly as he stared into Blair's eyes. What did you say to someone who thought you were beautiful? 

"Don't say anything. You won't change my mind. I think you are probably the most beautiful person in the world," Blair grinned at him. "All of your modesty won't change that. It'll only make you more beautiful." 

Jim grinned at Blair then. "Well, as much as I would love to spout poetry back at you this morning, we have to be going. We finish planning the security for the Governor's Ball today." 

"I have a class this morning, but I'm free for the afternoon," Blair said watched Jim roll out of bed. "How about we meet for lunch?" 

Jim stretched and yawned. "Sure, Chief. Where do you want to go?" 

"How about here?" 

Jim turned around in surprise and froze in place as he saw the expression on his lover's face. Blair's eyes seemed to burn with passion. His full bottom lip was sticking out slightly, and the corners of his lips were curled in an almost feral smile. The combination of the look on his face with his carelessly tousled curls and his lithe grace as he climbed out of bed made for an all too tempting picture. Jim groaned softly. 

"You do this on purpose, don't you?" Jim asked as he felt his body respond. "Yes, we'll meet back here," Jim growled, "and be prepared to be fucked senseless." 

Blair just grinned. "Good, 'cause that's exactly what I wanted." 

Jim growled again as he almost ran down the stairs. "Just for that remark, I'm going to shower first." He went into to the bathroom with the sound of Blair's soft laughter floating down to him.   
  


* * *

Blair grinned as he pulled into his parking space. Jim's truck was already parked in the garage. The eager young man lightly bounded up the stairs and quickly opened the door. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected. 

Simon and Jim were sitting at the counter, arguing over some floor plans. 

"I still say that this isn't the best position for one of the men to be in, Simon. All of us should be able to see as many of the exits and entrances as possible," Jim argued as he took a big bite out of his sub. "Hey, Chief, I've got a veggie sub over here for you." 

Blair dropped his backpack to the floor and ambled over to the counter. His body and posture screamed irritation. "Thanks, Jim," he said. There was an edge in his voice. 

Simon looked up, smiled, then quickly looked down. He sobered, then almost lost it again as he realized why Blair and Jim were meeting here for lunch. He abruptly began to defend his position to Jim. 

Blair sat down and looked at the floor plan they were discussing. "You're both wrong," he said quietly. They both looked at him. "Look, guys, there are two balconies, here," he pointed to the plan, "and here. Well, I would assume this is on the second floor. Right?" Both men nodded. "Well, there needs to be someone watching the balcony doors, or at least someone on each of the balconies." 

Simon and Jim stared at him for a minute, then they looked at each other. 

"I've got to admit that I overlooked the balconies," Simon said with annoyance. Did the anthropologist have to be right most of the time? 

"If you would stop arguing long enough to look around, you wouldn't have neglected something that obvious," Blair said as he unobtrusively squeezed Jim's thigh under the counter. 

Jim stiffened abruptly. Lunch. He had forgotten what this "lunch" was supposed to be about. He quickly turned to Simon. 

"Well, if that's all ironed out, you probably need to be getting back," Jim said in a rush. He could feel his body responding to the warmth of Blair's hand on his thigh. 

"Well, I was thinking of finishing up this sub," Simon said with a twinkle in his eye as he held up the few bites he had left. 

"Really, Simon, I doubt the Department could get along for a whole hour without you. Right, Jim?" Blair asked innocently. 

"Oh, I think it can, Blair. You put too much faith in my influence," Simon said with a devilish smile. I could get to like this game, he thought as he watched the muscles in Jim's jaw jump and twitch. 

"Simon, are we off the clock?" Jim asked through clenched teeth. 

"Why yes, we are," Simon said with a smirk. 

"Then, sir, I respectfully request that you leave," Jim said with a smile. 

"Of course," Simon said as he got off his stool. He lazily walked over to the coat rack and got his coat. As he walked out of the door, he heard a loud growl. He laughed all the way down to the street. He stopped laughing when he realized that Jim had driven over.   
  


* * *

Jim growled as he pulled Blair toward him. He began to kiss and nip at his lover's throat as soon as he heard Simon leave. Blair's moans and whimpers were almost too much. 

Blair gasped as he felt his lover mark his throat. He quickly pulled away. 

"Jim, remember where we have to be in forty minutes," Blair said breathily as Jim began pulling off his own clothes. 

"Don't really care, Chief," Jim rasped as he tugged off his boxers. "All I can think about is you: how you taste, how you feel against me. I want you so bad." 

Blair felt his knees go weak as his lover started toward him. He initiated the next kiss, not caring that Jim ripped two of the buttons off of his shirt removing it. All he cared about now was how his lover felt under his hands. 

Jim shivered as Blair began to run his nails lightly over his back. It felt as if Blair was tracing strange, magical patterns over his skin. Suddenly, Blair pulled back and nipped at Jim's lips. 

Blair couldn't help but smile as he heard Jim's gasp of surprise. His lover was so sensitive, he thought as he began to nibble and suck at his lover's tender nipples. He extended himself along their mindlink, then grinned. The only thing in Jim's mind was pleasure. 

/like that don't you/ 

Jim moaned and gasped as Blair increased the pressure of his nails against Jim's skin. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't completely pleasurable either. 

/yes i like it/ Jim abruptly pulled away from his lover and dropped to his knees. He attacked the belt buckle holding up Blair's jeans. 

Blair groaned as Jim roughly pulled his jeans and briefs down. He gasped as Jim pulled his cock into his mouth. /yes my love yes/ 

/like that huh/ Jim teased his partner with long, slow sucks, short, hot licks, and the hard edge of his teeth. Soon Blair was groaning in frustration. 

His lover just would not give him what he needed to come. Jim varied the rhythm and speed of his motions every time Blair began to get close. 

/please love please/ 

Jim let Blair's cock slip from his mouth. Blair cried out in desperation. "Do you really want it, Blair?" Jim asked as his lover looked down at him through hooded eyes. 

"Yes," Blair hissed at him. His head fell back as Jim quickly swallowed him whole and began to suck. He began to moan in time with Jim's rhythm. The feel of Jim's throat muscles massaging the head of his cock soon became too much. Blair came with a short, high shriek. 

Jim caught Blair as he started to fall backward and slowly lowered him to his lap. He began to hungrily lick and kiss his lover's lips. Blair slowly began to respond as he realized that Jim hadn't found his own release. 

"What's the matter, big guy?" Blair asked against his lover's mouth as he began to stroke and caress the Detective's hot and aching cock. "Do we have some unfinished business?" 

Jim just growled in response. He was so close. His kisses grew rougher and more passionate. He abruptly pulled away and clenched his teeth as he came in quick, hot spurts. 

They lay there on the floor, wrapped up in each other until they heard knock at the door. Jim looked at Blair and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know who was at the door. 

"Come on, you guys," Simon said impatiently from the other side of the door. "I don't hear any weird noises, and it's been twenty minutes. You must be finished. I need a ride back to the station because someone gave me a ride here; so get your asses in gear." 

Blair began to snort and giggle. He began to laugh even harder when Jim tried to shut him up. 

"'Get our asses in gear.' He told us to get our asses in gear." Blair laughed as he pushed at Jim. Jim caught the joke and began to laugh along with him. 

Simon leaned his forehead against the door. He couldn't believe he'd just said that. He banged his head against the door a few times and stood back as he heard movement in the apartment. 

"We'll be right out, Simon," Blair said with another snicker. He followed Jim into the bathroom, and they began to wipe each other off with a washcloth. 

They both sighed as they got dressed. It was time to pick up the tuxes and get ready for tonight. At least the food should be good, Blair thought as he followed Jim out of the door.   
  


* * *

Jim pulled at his bow tie impatiently. Blair had left a few minutes ago to find them something non-alcoholic to drink. He sighed in relief as he finally caught a glimpse of Blair in the crowd. It looked like he was trying to lose Simon as he pushed his way around the little cliques of people. 

"Blair, I'm serious here. You don't push by the head of a major bank without saying 'excuse me,' then when he asks you who you are, answer 'special consultant with the police department,'" Simon was saying as they approached Jim. "Do you know who is going to be getting a call in the morning?" 

Blair just shrugged. "He saw I had two hands full, but he wouldn't move. What was I supposed to do, Simon, apologize for something that wasn't even my fault?" 

"Yes," Simon practically roared. 

Blair just shrugged and turned away. Then he froze as he saw the two women coming in the entrance. He felt Jim lay a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't turn around. 

"Simon, who is that?" Jim asked as Blair refused to turn toward him. 

"That's Regina Dumas, and the other woman is ...," Simon paused for a second, "Katlyn Wildcat. She runs The Haven." 

"Oh, yeah, I remember now. Dumas funds it, right? It's that place over near the harbor for runaways," Jim said as he studied the two women more closely. 

Regina Dumas was tall and muscular. The color of her hair was somewhere between wheat and gold, and it was very thick and coarse. Her skin tone was just a little lighter shade the same color as her hair. Her eyes were golden brown. 

Katlyn Wildcat's skin tone was a bit darker and more brown than Regina Dumas's, and her hair was darker and straight. Her eyes were greenish gold. 

Blair turned back toward them. "Come on, we have to pay our respects. She will want to meet you too, Simon." 

"Pay our respects?" Simon mumbled under his breath as he followed Jim. 

Jim just shrugged. He didn't know what was going on. 

Jim watched as Regina Dumas turned away from the Governor, who was in the middle of greeting her, to watch Blair's approach. Everyone in the little circle of powerful people stared as she held out a hand to Blair. 

Blair grasped the hand, bowed over it, and lightly kissed the back of her hand. 

"How are you this evening, Regina?" he asked. His manner made the name a title. 

"I am quite well. Thank you, " Regina said with a smile. "How are you, Blair?" 

"I'm fine. I would like you to meet some friends of mine," Blair said softly. "This," he pointed to Jim, "is Detective Ellison, and this," he indicated Simon, "is Captain Banks of Major Crimes." 

As Jim listened to the exchange, he tried to place Mrs. Dumas' accent. It wasn't European or Eastern. 

"Hello, Mrs. Dumas," Jim said as he held out his hand. 

She grinned at him as they shook hands. "Please, call me Regina. Mrs. Dumas sounds so old." 

Blair seemed to almost convulse, and Katlyn Wildcat began to cough. Their eyes met, and they burst out laughing. Regina began to reproach them good naturedly. 

"Children, children, such a way to act during an introduction," she said with a light laugh. She held out her hand to Simon. "Hello, Captain Banks." 

As Simon shook her hand, he was struck by how callused it seemed. And her accent--he could have sworn it sounded African. 

"Hello, Regina. Please, call me Simon," Simon said, grinning. "They are a silly bunch, aren't they?" Simon asked as he waved his hand toward Blair and Katlyn. They had finally gotten back in control of themselves. 

"Such is youth, Simon," Regina said lightly. 

"As usual, Cousin Blair has shown his lack of manners. I'm Katlyn Wildcat," Katlyn said as she reached out to shake Simon's hand. 

Simon shook her hand with a smile. Katlyn's accent was purely American. The Southern twang was there, but it was not obvious. She sounded as though she hadn't lived in the South for quite awhile. 

Jim shook her hand next, looking her over as he did. She was a hunter, a fighter. He could tell from her build and the way she moved. He was willing to bet she would make a great dance partner. 

"Hello, I'm ...." 

"Jim Ellison," Katlyn cut in. "You catch all the criminals, stop bullets with your teeth, and can jump over tall buildings with a single bound." Katlyn finished by throwing a grin over her shoulder to Blair. 

"Damn it, Katlyn," Blair said in mock anger. "I told you the leaping over tall buildings was supposed to be a secret." 

They all laughed at that. Then Katlyn sighed. "Regina, do I really have to be here? You know how I hate this stuff," Katlyn whined. 

"Katlyn," Regina said sternly, "I won't always be around. You must make contacts. Now, go. Mingle." 

Katlyn sighed again and left to mingle with the group they had been greeted by. Jim glanced at Blair and saw his barely suppressed grin. 

"Regina, it's a lost cause. She's never going to grow up," Blair said with a grin. 

"As if you have grown up at all," Regina answered. "Besides one can always hope." She noticed that Blair was drinking something in a small glass. She asked, "What is that you're drinking?" 

"Fruit punch," Blair answered. "Non-alcoholic." 

"Go. Get me a glass," she said. She smiled when Blair simply raised an eyebrow at her. "Americans," she said with a shake of her head. "Please," Regina said graciously. 

Blair smiled and left to go fetch her punch. He grinned as he thought of what was about to happen to the totally unsuspecting Jim. Blair knew he would have a number of of questions to answer later. 

Regina turned toward Jim and looked him over. He was obviously ex-military. His hair cut and posture screamed it. The man moved like a fighter. She smiled at the thought that he would probably be a good dancer as well and turned toward Simon. 

Blair had told her that Simon was one of the biggest men he had ever seen. He had been right. She hadn't seen a more powerful man in this century. As her sisters would have said, he was built to endure. 

"I have a few questions I need to ask both of you. Let us retire to the balcony," Regina said as she started toward the nearest of the two balconies. 

Jim and Simon exchanged a look and started after her. 

"A bit dictatorial, wouldn't you say, Simon?" Jim whispered as he followed her. 

"I would at that. Blair didn't exactly jump when she said to get her some punch, but he certainly went after that punch quickly enough," Simon answered. 

Regina smiled with amusement as she heard their exchange. So the cub hadn't told them everything yet. Good. She loved to pounce on people unexpectedly. 

As they stepped onto the balcony, she veered off to the right where the balcony was darkest. They wouldn't be disturbed here. 

"So you," she pointed at Jim, "take my ... nephew along with you on cases. He is put into situations with which he has little experience and no training to deal with. And you," she pointed at Simon, "allow it." 

Jim opened his mouth to defend himself, but she threw up her hand to cut him off. 

"I know why this is, Detective. I knew what you were the moment I saw you. I have met your kind before," Regina said as she turned from them. "He does what he does because that is what he is born to do. It was written in the stars long before he was born," she finished softly. 

Regina turned back toward the two men. "You should feel privileged actually. It is not often..." Regina looked about. It would not do to be overheard now. She lowered her voice, "It is not often a Sentinel has a Shifter for a Guide." 

"I will say this and never mention the matter of his inexperience again," Regina leaned close to Jim. "If he dies because you failed to act to the best of your abilities," she leaned in close to Simon then, "or your abilities," then she lowered her voice to a menacing growl, "I will kill you both. They will never find the bodies." 

After making her statement, she swept away from them and headed back into the ballroom.   
  


* * *

Blair saw Regina as she swept into the ballroom. He walked over to her and gave her the glass of fruit punch. As their hands touched, he felt her agitation. 

"Regina, is everything all right?" Blair asked as he glanced back at the balcony entrance and saw Jim and Simon coming back into the ballroom. 

Regina gulped down the fruit punch and smiled. It was a bright, false smile. "Everything is fine, Blair, but I would suggest you see to your friends. I may have wounded them a bit." She turned from him and headed toward the governor. 

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Blair asked as Jim and Simon reached him. 

"I think we just got mauled," Simon said as he scanned the room. "Jim, I see someone I have to talk to. I'll talk to you on Monday, okay?" 

"Sure, Simon," Jim said as he stared at Blair. 

"What?" Blair asked as Jim took him by the arm and escorted him back to their post by the fire exit. 

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Chief," Jim growled. "Like just how you and Regina are related, and why she would know who and what I am before anyone told her?"   
  


* * *

Jim led the way up the stairs. It was late, and Blair was tired. All he wanted to do was shower with his lover and catch some Z's, but somehow he knew that wasn't going to happen. 

Jim opened the door and went inside. Blair watched from the doorway as Jim immediately went into the kitchen for a beer. He slowly closed the door and locked it. He was really too tired to explain it all. Maybe the Sentinel would let it go for tonight. 

"Blair, I want to know. You've hedged around giving me a complete explanation for almost a month, but now it's time to tell the tale," Jim said grimly as he headed for the couch. 

Blair sighed and sat down next to him. "Where do you want me to start?" 

"How about the beginning?" Jim answered. 

"Okay. The beginning. Well, the beginning is in Africa-- Egypt to be exact. How much do you know about the Egyptian pantheon of gods and goddesses?" Blair asked wearily as he loosened his bow tie and unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. He slowly rolled the cuffs up as he toed off his shoes. 

"Well, not much really. I know the basic legend behind the King representing Horus," Jim answered impatiently. 

"Well, there's an Egyptian Goddess. Her name is Bastet, or sometimes Bast, and she represents fertility and love. Jim, she's a cat woman," Blair said as he turned to face Jim. "It's why we believe that we came from that region. 

"We originated in Africa and appeared to have spread out with the migration of Homo Sapiens. We arrived with them on every continent," Blair said with a smile. "Some of us intermarried, and others didn't." 

"So you could have children with a woman who wasn't a Shifter," Jim said, surprised. 

"Yes, we've come to believe that it's a genetic trait linked to the X chromosome. Every child a female Shifter has is able to Shift, but only the female children of a male Shifter has the ability. We've come to be a very matriarchal society," Blair explained. "Of course, there are consequences of intermarriage." 

"What are they?" Jim asked when Blair paused. 

"Well, the life span of a True Bred Shifter is approximately five hundred years," Blair said quietly. 

Jim stared at him in amazement. He's got to be joking, Jim thought hysterically, he's going to live on after I'm dead. He's going to see me grow old and die. 

Blair felt Jim's distress. "Jim, I won't live that long." 

"But you said ...." 

"Jim, if a True Bred mates with a normal human, her offspring will only live two hundred and fifty years. It halves each time until the life span is that of a normal human. The ability to sustain the Shift decreases with each dilution. I will grow old with you, Jim, and I can only hold the Shift for about four hours," Blair sighed and said, "and if I had mated with a woman, there would be a good chance that my great-grandchildren would not be able to shift at all." 

Jim stared at Blair, then a light bulb went on. "Regina is a True Bred, isn't she?" 

"Yes, she was born in Africa about three hundred years ago. She's a lioness. Katlyn was born here. She's a mountain lion," Blair said with a smile. "She is about fifty years old with another seventy five to go." 

Jim sat there, soaking all of this in. Suddenly, something dawned on him. Simon's reactions in that hotel after he had been shot. He had immediately sought high ground. He had finally crawled into the air ducts to escape the men who had been after him. His sense of direction had held true even when he had been half-unconscious. 

"Can someone be part Shifter and not know it?" Jim asked. 

"Yes, like all mutations it can crop up unexpectedly in the gene pool from time to time," Blair asked quietly. "Why?" 

Jim turned toward Blair and smiled at the grin on his face. Jim knew that Blair knew what he was thinking and who he was thinking it about. 

"What would happen if someone like that were found?" Jim asked with a grin. He figured he already knew the answer. 

"Someone like Regina would have to come and observe him. She would then decide whether or not contact was possible," Blair answered. 

"Possible?" Jim asked. 

"Yes, possible. Some are so closed off to the idea of being different that the concept of being a Shifter would be abhorrent and damaging. Others might need to mature a bit before they found out," Blair answered as he moved closer to his lover and snuggled into his arms. 

"Tired, love?" Jim asked with a yawn. 

"Yes," Blair hissed through a yawn. 

"Let's turn in. Tomorrow's our day off," Jim said as he sat up and pulled Blair up after him.   
  


* * *

Jim rolled over to escape the ringing in his ears, but it seemed to be all around him. He cracked open one eye and saw that the room was dark and the alarm clock wasn't set. He moaned. 

"Jim, if you don't get the phone, I'm going to put superglue in your shorts one night while you are asleep," he heard Blair mutter from under a pillow. 

Jim rolled out of bed and reached for the phone. 

"This had better be God," Jim rasped into the phone. 

"Well, here's a revelation, Jim," Simon responded with a wry chuckle. "The Haven was just torched. Get down here."   
  


* * *

Jim and Blair arrived as the fire trucks left. Blair quickly spotted Katlyn and hurried toward her. She was still dressed in her cocktail dress. However, her hair was mussed, and she was barefoot. 

"Katlyn," he said. She just stood there, staring at the smoldering ruins. "Katlyn," he touched her arm, "are you all right?" 

She turned to him. He gasped. Her tears had made tracks in the soot that streaked her face. It looked as though she was wearing some sort of grotesque mask. He immediately tugged her into his arms. She began to sob. 

"It's gone. All of it's gone. What am I going to do?" she cried. "Where will they go? Those kids count on me." 

Blair rocked her as he glanced over his shoulder to look at Jim. He was deeply immersed in a conversation with the arson investigator. Blair could tell when the news turned from bad to worse. Jim's entire body suddenly stiffened, and a wave of anger and sadness flowed through their link. He turned on his heel and strode over to Simon. 

They talked for a minute. Blair absently noticed that Katlyn's sobs were decreasing to sniffles. Then Simon shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!" Simon broke away from Jim and stamped over to Blair and Katlyn. 

"Sandburg, I need to talk to Ms. Wildcat alone," Simon gritted out. 

"No, sir, I can't leave her just now," Blair said quietly. "She's very upset. I only just calmed her down." 

"Sandburg ..." Simon growled. 

"If you wish to speak to someone, Captain," Regina interrupted softly, "let it be to me. I own the property and what's left of the building." 

"Really," Simon said as he spun toward Regina. "Well, why don't we talk?" 

"Sir ..." Jim started. 

"Jim, when I want your opinion I will ask for it," Simon growled and said, "When was the last time the insurance on this building was increased?" 

"Which kind?" Regina asked politely. She felt that if she worked her cards right, she could diffuse his mood. 

"What do you mean?" Simon asked impatiently. 

"By law, The Haven has to have medical, liability, and fire insurance," Regina answered with a small, polite smile. 

Simon saw the smile and saw red. He did not like to be patronized. "I mean the fire insurance!" he roared. 

Regina stiffened. This ... genetic accident was roaring at her, the Incarnation of Bastet, the oldest True Bred, the last of the Kenyan line. She felt herself grow hot. 

Suddenly, Simon backed up a step. Anger seemed to flow off of Regina Dumas in waves. The pupils of her eyes changed without warning, becoming slits. Simon felt a curl of heat arch its way through his stomach and settle in his groin. He realized that he wasn't afraid, he was aroused. 

"The fire insurance has never been increased. I always get the best my money can buy," Regina growled softly. 

At her growl, both Blair and Katlyn stepped forward. Katlyn edged herself between Simon and Regina. Her skin crawled as she felt Regina's eyes bore into her back. 

"Captain Banks, I think I'm ready to give my statement now," Katlyn said huskily. "Captain Banks?" 

Simon watched as Blair stood on tip toe and began to whisper in Regina's ear. She slowly looked toward him, then shook her head as if to clear it. 

"Regina, you can't get angry here. People are already staring. Come on, let's go back to your car. I'll stay with you until you calm down, okay?" Blair said as he began leading Regina away. He silently began to berate himself. 

He had recognized the signs of the mating challenge almost too late. Regina and Simon's exchange was already starting to draw attention from Forensics as they picked over the burned out shell behind them. 

Jim just watched. He couldn't believe what had happened. Regina had seemed to try her damnedest to get Simon to yell at her. And the most amazing part was that Simon did. Usually, he only yelled at the bad guys and his officers, not the victims. 

Jim just shook his head. When he said that the arson investigator had theorized that it had been an HTA fire, Simon had gone ballistic. He could understand, of course. A copy cat was often hard to catch, but Simon seemed to think that The Haven had been burned down for the insurance. 

Not only that, but Jim had been surprised to pick up on Simon's response to Regina's anger. What the hell was going on? he thought as he watched Blair lead Regina away from Simon. Just who was Blair to Regina? Jim wondered as he realized that Regina was docilely following Blair back to her car. He realized that Blair had never gotten around to answering that question earlier, or how Regina knew who he was. 

Blair escorted Regina to her car and opened her door. She sat inside and put her head between her knees. 

/i can't believe i lost control that way reconciler/ 

Blair began to soothe her. He ran his hands over her head and knelt beside her. He sent out his most reassuring litanies. He knew why, but she had to find out for herself. 

Jim, lost in thought as he watched Blair, started when Katlyn touched his arm. "Are you okay?" he asked distractedly. The link between him and Blair seemed to pulse with feelings of reassurance, but these feelings weren't directed to him. 

"I'm fine, but you seem a bit distracted. What's wrong?" Katlyn asked as her curiosity came to the forefront. 

"Katlyn, exactly who is Regina, and what is she to Blair?" Jim asked as he turned away from Katlyn. "Regina strikes me as the kind of person who would never allow anyone to lead her away from a fight, but she just followed him away from Simon as though she were in a daze." 

Katlyn smiled. "We all have our talents, Detective. Regina is a warrior, who also happens to be able to instantly read exactly who a person is. She described it to me as being able to read a person's 'code.' Blair, however, is what we call a 'reconciler.' Since antiquity, such people have been the diplomats and peacemakers of my people." 

"She called him her nephew earlier," Jim stated as he watched Blair settle Regina in her car and send her home. He started toward Simon. 

Katlyn sighed. "Regina isn't his aunt. We aren't even related." Katlyn leaned forward. "It's like a cultural thing. The older generation taking care of the new, guiding them, teaching them. She's very special though ..." 

"Well?" Jim said impatiently. He could see the beginning of the sunrise, and he was beginning to get hungry. 

"Among our people there are only two paths--there is good and evil. For us, there is no gray, only black and white," Katlyn said quietly. "A very long time ago, there were those who proclaimed themselves gods. They used the people they held enthralled shamelessly. 

"There were also those who fought against them. They were led by the True Bred. The last Enthraller was dethroned in Kenya about two hundred and fifty years ago. All evidence of her reign was destroyed," Katlyn spit out. 

"Why?" Jim asked as turned to look at Katlyn. The disgust in her voice was almost a living thing. 

"Can you imagine what would have happened? We're talking about the 1700's, Detective. They were just finishing up the Salem Witch trials," Katlyn hissed. "Do you know how many European Shifters died in the witch and werewolf trials of the Dark Ages?" Katlyn growled as she stepped toward Jim. 

Jim almost took a step back but stopped himself. "How many?" he asked quietly. 

"About a third of all the people convicted were werewolves, and about a quarter of the convicted witches were Shifters, Detective. Those Shifters in Kenya knew that if word of a woman who ruled for about two hundred years ever got out, there would be those who would come searching for the truth, and Regina was not going to allow that," Katlyn said vehemently. 

"Regina fought this woman?" Jim asked. He was a bit dazed. Regina had seemed so refined, despite being hot blooded. 

"Her entire family did. She is the last surviving True Bred of her line," Katlyn said not with a little pride. "She sort of adopts any young Shifters she comes across. She knows the importance of being taught the white path." 

"That's why you and Blair are so respectful of her," Jim said as he started toward Simon. Blair had just finished telling him that Regina had more money than God and didn't need to torch charities for more. 

"Actually, no," Katlyn said with a smile. Jim turned back to face her. "She was born with a tattoo." She held up her hand as Jim tried to interrupt. "I know--it's impossible. If you prefer think of it as a multicolored birthmark, go ahead, but that makes no difference. It still marks her as the Incarnation of Bastet. She's a religious and political figure because of it," Katlyn said with a grin. "You could say that Regina is a Queen of a nationless people."   
  


* * *

"Listen, Simon, Regina has more money than God," Blair said quietly, "and she doesn't need to torch charities for more. Just leave her alone, or you're going to draw back a nub." 

"Really? And who are you," Simon growled as he jabbed Blair in the chest with a finger, "to be telling me what I should do?" 

Blair slapped his hand away and stepped closer to Simon. "I'm the one who has seen what's left of her enemies. Believe me, man, you do not want to be on Regina's hit list," Blair hissed. He turned and met Jim and Katlyn halfway. 

"Katlyn, do you need a ride anywhere?" Blair asked. 

She sighed and answered, "No, Blair. My car is right over there. I'm going to go over to the dojo and work off some of this anger. Then I'm going to find Regina and get started on rebuilding this place. In the mean time, we'll probably find an abandoned warehouse to lease so the kids'll have someplace to sleep." She sighed again and looked over the ruined building. "At least it was a Friday night. No one was here to get hurt. Anyway, I'll see you later." 

"See you, Katlyn. Take care," Blair said as she walked away. 

She turned and grinned. "Sure thing, mommy Blair." 

He laughed and turned back to Jim. "What say we go and get breakfast, then try to get some more sleep?" 

Jim smiled. "Sounds good to me, Chief." 

As they drove away, Jim caught sight of Simon. He was still where Blair had left him. He was talking to someone on his cell phone.   
  


* * *

Jim sighed and turned toward the warmth beside him. He smiled as a warm mouth began to kiss its way up his throat. He latched on to that beautiful mouth and rolled over. 

Blair moaned into Jim's mouth as he felt Jim's hard on brush his own. He stared up at Jim as he pulled away. Jim was silent for a few minutes, then he rolled back over and pulled him close. 

Jim stared down at the beautiful, mythical creature that was his mate. His mate for life. Blair was so elusive--not like a butterfly but like a hummingbird ... flitting here and there and sampling the flowers along the way. He rolled over, pulled Blair close, and closed his eyes. God, please don't let me lose this man, he prayed fervently, I know it's not right to pray for something like this, but I'm a balding, grumpy cop who's trying to hold onto a hummingbird. 

"Hey, big guy, is there something wrong?" Blair asked as he looked into his love's face. Jim had his eyes closed, and his forehead was wrinkled. 

"You are like a hummingbird, Blair. Beauty made of rainbow colors. I love you so much. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to hold onto you," Jim whispered softly. 

Blair gaped at his lover. Not hold onto him .... He linked to Jim. /jim only death would take me from you/ and he poured all of his love into the link. 

Jim gasped and arched against Blair. The richness of his mate's devotion filled him. He, in turn, sent his feelings for Blair to him and felt Blair shudder against him. 

They began to make love, keeping the link open. Blair started by worshipping his lover's body. He kissed and licked at Jim's nipples, gasping as he felt his lover's pleasure. As he kissed his way down Jim's body, he could feel his lover's anticipation as he began to string kisses along the edge of Jim's pubic hair. 

Jim was drowning in sensation. He could feel Blair's admiration for his body as Blair pushed his thighs farther apart and begin to kiss along the crease between his thigh and body. It was driving him insane. /please love please/ 

Blair smiled and slid up his lover's body. He loved the feel of the hard muscle and the softer flesh against his skin. He started kissing Jim again. He could tell that Jim was close, but Blair wanted to make it last. 

Suddenly, Jim flipped them over with a growl. He began to bite and kiss his way down Blair's body. /mine/ he mindspoke as he gripped Blair's erection. 

/yours/ Blair replied. He could feel his mate's need to claim him and was happy to oblige. He moaned as Jim began to lick the tip of his cock, scooping up the fluid that was beginning to flow freely. He arched as Jim sucked him into his mouth, then hissed when Jim gently scraped the sensitive flesh with his teeth as he pulled back. 

/get me the lube/ Jim sent as he began to lightly massage the entrance to Blair's body. 

Blair groaned as he reached over and snagged the bottle from the night stand. He handed it to Jim and lay back. Blair watched Jim's muscles move as he oiled his cock, then Jim poured lube onto his fingers. Blair gasped as he felt Jim begin to work a finger into him. 

Jim smiled down at his lover as he slowly worked in a second finger. Blair was squirming and whimpering. The feelings and emotions coming through the link were confused and chaotic. It was a heady mixture of want, desire, need, and love. 

/are you ready for me blair/ Jim conveyed to his lover. 

/goddess yes please love you're torturing me/ Blair sent back and moaned in disappointment when the fingers withdrew from his body. When Jim pushed both of Blair's legs up and positioned himself, Blair began to growl. 

/yes you're mine mine i'll never let you go/ Blair relayed to Jim. He gasped at the initial invasion, but quickly adjusted to the feeling of his lover's hard cock inside him. He reached up and grabbed Jim's upper arms, clutching them. /now love i'm ready now/ 

Jim was startled by the force of feelings pouring off of Blair. It was almost too much, too close, but Blair's insistence and the feel of the hot tight flesh surrounding him spurred him on. He began to thrust inside of his mate, and he made his own claim. /mine/ he sent over and over to Blair. 

Blair moaned with each stroke. The thought of being possessed by his lover and possessing him at the same time spurred him higher and higher, and the pleasure and passion his lover felt pushed him up that slope. 

Jim gasped with each plunge into his love. It was crazy and chaotic, he thought with some distant part of his brain. He was being possessed by Blair and possessing Blair. He was being entered by his lover and entering his lover. Then Blair's body gripped him, Blair yelled, and he felt a wetness being spurted onto his stomach. 

Blair whimpered as Jim slowed then lunged into his body once, twice, three times, and then he came with a scream. Jim collapsed on his beloved, then slowly disconnected from him. /love you/ he sent as he pulled Blair into his arms. 

/love you always/ Blair sent to his mate as he closed his eyes and snuggled deep into his lover's embrace.   
  


* * *

Blair turned off the wok and poured the stir fry into the serving dish. He smiled as he smelled the aroma of the chicken and vegetables. He filched a piece of chicken and smiled. Perfection. 

"Jim, it's ready," he said with a smile. 

"I know. I'll be down in a minute," Jim replied. The sound of his voice was followed by several loud thumps. 

"Are you alright up there?" Blair asked as he put the dish on the table. 

"Yeah," Jim said as he started down the steps. He was grinning widely, and he knew he probably looked like a fool, but he was a happy fool. "I've got something for you," he said as he pulled Blair close. 

"Really?" Blair said as he snuggled into Jim's embrace. 

"Yes, really, and if you want to eat anytime soon, I need to let you go and give you this," Jim said softly as he kissed Blair behind the ear. 

"As much as I love you, big guy," Blair said as he pulled away slightly, "if I don't eat in about two minutes, I'm going to faint." 

Jim stepped back and handed him a small box. It was made of cedar and was a little dusty. There were no hinges or lid. 

Blair looked up at Jim. "Okay, it's a block of wood?" 

Jim laughed. "No, this box and its contents have been handed down for quite a few generations. No one knows exactly when it was made and who for. When you open it, what's inside is yours." 

"Do you know how to open it?" Blair asked as he sat down at the table and began to look it over. He looked up when Jim didn't answer and smiled at the look on his face. 

"I used to, okay," Jim said defensively, "but over the years, I've forgotten. Besides the family tradition is that only the person who can open it has any right to what's inside." 

Blair grinned and began to turn it over in his hands and caress the wood. He could feel the slightest of grooves in each side. Then he felt the urge to press down. It was as if this one spot had a "press me" sign on it. He pressed and heard a click. 

Slowly, only stopping to eat when Jim reminded him, Blair ran his fingers over the box. The clicking sound was repeated several times until, an hour later, the top of the box popped open. He looked inside and gasped. 

It was an armband, a bronze armband. He lifted it from the box, surprised by its heaviness. It was engraved with a snarling panther. 

"Jim," he said breathlessly. "Look at this." He showed the design to Jim. 

"I didn't remember what was engraved on it," Jim said with wonder in his voice. "It just seemed so appropriate for you to have it. I knew you could open the box." 

"And Carolyn couldn't?" Blair asked as he got up and climbed into Jim's lap. 

"I never showed it to her. I knew she couldn't open it," Jim said as he pushed back from the table so he could hold Blair comfortably. 

"Put it on me," Blair said softly as he handed the armband to Jim. Blair held up his left arm and watched as Jim pushed it up his arm. For a moment, it didn't feel as though it would stay, but then Blair felt something happen. The armband seemed to tighten imperceptibly to fit to his arm, but that was forgotten as they began to kiss. 

The ringing of the phone interrupted them. Jim growled as he stood up and set a still kiss-stunned Blair on his feet. He stalked over to answer the phone. 

"Ellison," he snarled into the phone. 

"Jim, it's Simon. You two need to get to the station. Something just arrived for Blair. It appears to be something from The Haven bomber," Simon said wearily. 

"We'll be there right away," Jim said as he hung up the phone. "Chief, we need to get ..." 

"To the station right away," Blair finished for him with a smile. "But I want a raincheck." 

"Done," Jim replied with a grin as he followed Blair up the stairs to put on something decent.   
  


* * *

Jim and Blair walked across the bullpen. It was practically deserted, of course. There were just a few people on duty on Saturday, but that only made the stares all the more noticeable. 

Jim and Blair exchanged a questioning look as they realized that Simon was waiting at Jim's desk. There was a package beside him. Blair felt Jim tense as they got closer. Then Blair smelled it too. 

The package smelled like overcooked meat and burnt hair. The smell was heavy and seemed to create its own reality around the desk. Blair felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as they reached the desk. The smell reminded him of an event he had tried very hard to forget. 

"It's addressed to you, Sandburg," Simon said quietly after a moment of silence. "I've already had some officers from the bomb squad go over it. It's clean." 

Blair just nodded and slowly reached out and began to pull the tape from the package. He noticed that it hadn't been mailed. 

"Blair, do you want me to do this?" Jim asked. He could feel his mate's apprehension. 

"No," Blair said to Jim. "Where did it come from?" Blair asked Simon quietly as he worked with the tape. 

"A courier brought it," Simon said in a more normal tone. "While the bomb squad went over it, I called the courier service. The records associated with the package are ..." 

"Mysteriously missing," Blair interrupted. "And no one will remember the woman who dropped it off, but the clerk will say it was definitely a woman who did. She'll be beautiful, but he won't remember any exact details." 

"How do you know that?" Simon asked as he stood up. He was surprised to discover that they now had an audience. Apparently, someone in the bomb squad had called Taggart, because he was standing right beside Simon. 

Jim grabbed Simon's arm and shook his head. He didn't know what was going on either, but it was best to let Blair get on with it. Blair's pulse rate was beginning to scare him. 

Blair looked at the package. He had removed all the tape he had to. There could be no more stalling. He said, "I know because this has happened before." Then he opened the package. 

Everyone gasped and pulled back. The stench was heavy and seemed to pounce out of the box like a living thing. And inside there was a piece of paper. It was covering up something--something burned. 

Blair picked up the piece of paper by one corner and read it, careful not to look into the box. He was sure he knew what was there. 

>   
>  Everything you love will burn.  
> 
> 
> Your Sibling 

It was printed in bold face , several times the normal twelve point font. 

"Blair..." Jim whispered as he stared in the box. 

"I know," Blair answered as he tipped the box with a finger and gazed into it. Inside laid the remains of a kitten. It was burned to a crisp.   
  


* * *

Blair watched the men gathered around Jim's desk. It didn't look like they were going to be moving on anytime soon. He had to reach his father and Sam, and the best way to do that was by email. He bit the bullet and approached Simon. 

"Listen, Simon, I need to use your computer for a minute," Blair whispered urgently as forensics retrieved the box and its contents. 

"Why?" Simon asked absently as he turned toward Blair. The dead kitten had mesmerized him. The thought of someone burning something so small and helpless was ... was unthinkable to him. 

"There are people I have to warn," Blair said softly, urgently. "Simon," he said insistently. 

"Sure, go ahead," Simon said softly. He was still thinking about the kitten. It had been helpless and completely harmless. He had always had an affinity toward cats. His mother had owned several.   
  


* * *

Jim and Blair walked into Simon's office and around his desk. "How are you going to log on?" Jim asked when he saw that Simon wasn't logged into the mainframe. Blair just threw up his hand and sat down. 

Blair logged in under Simon's badge number. He was glad he had taken the trouble to memorize some of the officers' badge numbers. When the prompt for the password came up, Blair tried the usual: God, sex, love, and money. Nothing. He sat there for a minute then logged back in and typed in Daryl as a password. He grinned as the computer beeped and began to run. Blair chose the email program and quickly began to type. 

Jim just stared down at Blair as he typed the message. He had no idea that Blair knew Simon's badge number or his password. He wondered what else he didn't know about his Guide.   
  


* * *

Simon surfaced from his thoughts about the kitten and remembered that he wasn't logged onto the mainframe, and Blair didn't have the password to his account anyway. He began pushing through the few cops still gathered around Jim's desk to go in and help Blair and Jim. 

"How in hell did you get into my account?!" Simon roared when he saw Blair typing. 

"No problem, man," Blair said absently. He didn't notice that Simon's roar had attracted attention. A few of the other detectives had drifted over, and Joel had pushed his way through to stand in the door. "I memorized your badge number way back. Your password was ridiculously easy. Even a newbie with half a brain could have found it by researching you in the library, Simon. 

"Now I'm sending an email to my geocities account. It's set to automatically forward all messages to a friend. From there, it'll be forwarded around about thirty times by some other friends of mine until it gets to where it's supposed to be." He stopped typing and began to read back over the message. 

> Re: Sun Signs 
> 
> Stay inside. The weather is much too hot today.  
>  Watch and wait for the weather to cool. 

Then he added two addresses at the bottom. One was at the FBI, and the other was tylersam@aol.com. 

"Simon, I need to call Naomi. Can I use your phone too?" Blair asked as he pressed the send button. 

Simon just stared at him. Blair looked up and met his gaze. Then he glanced at Jim who was smiling, or rather smirking. 

"What?!" Blair asked impatiently. 

Jim began to laugh. The officers outside joined him. "Chief, I think Simon's speechless. You can use my phone," Jim gasped. 

Blair just shook his head and pushed past the people in the doorway. 

He quickly called Naomi and told her that he had received a death threat. After convincing her that she would be much safer and he would feel much better if she weren't in Cascade, he phoned Regina and left a message on her answering machine. He lowered his voice as he told her he had received a "burnt offering." Next, he called Katlyn. She wasn't home either, so he left the same message, in an abbreviated form, at the dojo. He looked up to find Simon standing beside him. 

"I need to know how you know so much," Simon growled. 

"We need to talk in private," Blair said as he glanced toward the officers who were still gathered around Simon's door. 

"All right, everyone, back to work. This bombing just got personal, and I want this solved as soon as possible," Simon said as he started toward his office. "Ellison, Sandburg, in my office." 

As the other detectives scurried back to their desks, Blair and Jim followed after Simon. As soon as the door shut, Simon rounded on Blair. 

"How in hell did you know my password, Sandburg?" Simon asked icily. 

"That was easy, sir. Daryl is very important to you, sir, and not something you were likely to forget," Blair said softly. 

"Okay, I can accept that," Simon replied in a slightly warmer tone. "Now, about this package--what in hell is going on? Who is this 'sibling,' and what exactly did she mean by 'everything you love will burn?'" Simon questioned urgently. 

"It's more than a death threat, sir," Blair said dismally. He reached across to grab Jim's hand. "If I had known what I would be putting you through by getting involved with you, I would have left. But's it's too late now," Blair said softly. He connected to their link. /i love you too much/ he finished. 

Jim smiled at him and replied, "I don't have any regrets and never will." 

Simon cleared his throat pointedly. "Can we please get back to the subject? What do you mean by 'more than a death threat?'" 

"The kitten was a burnt offering. It was probably offered to Shiva or Anat. Both have warrior goddesses aspects. The person who it sent is warning me about the revenge she is about to take ... to make me suffer," Blair said softly. He leaned over and put his head in his hands. 

"A long time ago, when I was very young, something similar happened to a friend of my mother's and my aunt. The friend had been protecting me. I won't go into the details, but the man who tried to steal me had a Shifter for a lover, and this friend killed him protecting me. 

"My mother and Thyra, my aunt, went to help protect their friend. There was a fire at her home while we were there. Thyra died from injuries sustained in the fire, and my cousin, her daughter, Adrienne, has always blamed me. To make matters worse, she was sent to live with our grandmother, who held me up as some paragon of academic virtue. When Grandmother died, Adrienne told me at the funeral that she would get even with me one day when I had something ..." Blair paused and looked at Jim. "When I had something to lose. She called me her 'sibling' that day. 

"That's what Grandmother called us, siblings, because we were born so close together. It had something to do with Irish twins."   
  


* * *

Regina swept into the house. She refused to call it a home. Her home had been Africa with her sisters. This was a rest stop. She checked her answering machine. 

> "Regina, my 'sibling' has sent me a burnt offering. She is threatening to hurt everyone close to me. Come down to the station. I'll be waiting." 

Regina froze. She picked up her keys and quickly left the house. She raced to her car and revved the engine. It wasn't that she was a coward, she said to herself as she pull out of the drive, she just knew when to be prudent.   
  


* * *

Regina raced into police headquarters. As she slowed down at the check-in point, she felt someone grab her arm. It was Katlyn. 

/regina/ was all she sent to Regina, but Regina could feel the emotions boiling below the surface. 

/it's going to be all right/ she sent back. She knew Katlyn had been at the fire where Thyra died, and Regina knew that Katlyn still had nightmares about it, even after twenty years. Shifters may be long lived, but they could be killed or scarred just as any normal human could be. 

They quickly made their way to the Major Crimes bullpen. When Katlyn saw Blair, she rushed forward and hugged him close. 

"This must be terrible for you," she whispered, almost in tears. She could still remember his sooty, tear-streaked face as Thyra had handed him to her all those years ago. Watching the paramedics swarm over her, she had clutched him tightly just as she did now. 

Jim rested his hand on Katlyn's shoulder and turned toward Regina. She was pale, and her hair was mussed. She suddenly swayed on her feet. Then he heard someone in his head--not the link with Blair, it was someone else. It was Regina. 

/you've finally claimed him do you know what you have done/ Regina asked coldly. 

Jim was stunned then he heard a reply from Blair. 

/i know exactly what has happened regina leave him alone/ Blair said as he gently rocked Katlyn in his arms. She was crying softly. 

"Regina, we want to put all of you in safehouses, preferably separated," Simon said as he reached out as though to touch her shoulder. He let his hand drop when she turned to look at him. 

"No. All of us together or not at all," Regina replied. "We have a better chance of surviving if we are all together." 

"All that will do is make it easier to kill all of you at once," Simon hissed as he grabbed her arm. There was no hesitance in him now. 

Regina jerked away. "Don't you think you're a target also? Aren't you a friend of Jim's and Blair's superior?" Regina jerked her arm away from him. "You're in just as much danger as I am." 

Simon stared at her. He had never really thought of it that way. "I can take care of myself," he said haughtily. 

"Really, Captain, and your son?" Regina asked as she moved closer to Blair. 

Simon stared open mouthed for a second, then he yelled for Kim and asked her to pick up Daryl. He got on the phone with the Chief to get one large safe house and a smaller one out in the country for Joan and Daryl. 

Regina just smiled then turned toward Jim. "I apologize. I shouldn't have done what I did. I worry about Blair," she said softly. 

"I understand. I worry about him, too," Jim said with a soft smile. 

"Regina," Blair said softly, "I'm sorry for pulling you into this." 

Regina sighed, stepped closer still, and whispered tiredly, "Blair, when are you going to realize this isn't your fault? It wasn't your fault when that pedophile tried to kidnap you. It wasn't your fault that Adela killed him to protect a four-year-old boy. It wasn't your fault that Thyra died from her injuries, and it wasn't your fault that Sabra wore Naomi down until she gave custody of Adrienne to Sabra." 

Katlyn pulled away from him. "She's right, you know," Katlyn whispered hoarsely as she took a step away. "It has never been your fault." 

"All right, people, we have a safe house ready. Let's go," Simon said brusquely. 

"*A* safehouse, Captain?" Regina said sarcastically as she moved past him. 

"Just get going," he growled softly. If there was one thing he hated, it was to be wrong.   
  


* * *

They quickly settled themselves in. Because of the other officers, Jim and Blair took separate rooms. The look they exchanged as they as went to rooms on the opposite sides of the hall were filled with regret ... and a look of promise. One of them would be crossing the hall sometime during the night. 

Regina just watched them and shook her head. To be young again, she thought wistfully. Then she remembered the magic she had smelled on Blair. It had smelled of a binding spell. 

He probably didn't know what it was Jim had given him-- only that it had been given in love. She knew they would be together until one or both of them died, but she didn't want Blair to follow Jim to his death if it should come to that. 

As she lay down to rest, she decided that she would wring every bit of information about the armband out of Jim tomorrow.   
  


* * *

Jim stared across the room at Blair. He was reading, and his glasses were slipping down his nose. Jim groaned quietly and looked down at his own book. Damn, why does Blair have to look so sexy? 

Blair smiled as he caught the frustrated desire of his lover through the link. He put down his book and stretched. 

"Hmmm. Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight," Blair mused aloud as he got up and headed toward the stairs. Blair smiled as he felt his lover's eyes on his rear as he swayed up the stairs, out of sight of the other officers. 

He quickly took off his clothes, cut off the lights, and got into bed to wait.   
  


* * *

Jim smiled as he softly shut the door of Blair's room. He quickly took off his clothes and softly walked over to the bed. He almost shouted in surprise as a hand snaked out of the covers and pulled him down. 

"Shhhhh. We have to be very, very quiet," Blair said softly. "After all, we wouldn't want to draw attention to ourselves." 

Jim didn't answer. He was mesmerized by his lover's eyes. He gasped as Blair's pupils elongated and the eyes themselves seemed to glow. 

"It's all right. My eyes always do this in the dark," Blair said with a feral smile. "Does it put you off, or do you want to be ravished?" Blair asked with a growl. 

"They didn't before," Jim pointed out as he felt Blair tuck his head under Jim's chin. 

Jim shuddered as Blair replied. His breath seemed to excite every nerve ending there. "I can consciously choose not to change, Jim. I thought it might weird you out, but now, it's like you've accepted me, made me yours," Blair whispered. 

Jim smiled and cuddled Blair very close. "Did my ears deceive me, or did you offer to ravish me?" he whispered. 

Blair just growled in response and began to lick designs over Jim's neck. Flowers, pentagrams, dolphins--Blair hummed and licked until he had covered the entire surface of Jim's neck. 

Jim couldn't stop shivering, and he was convinced he was going to go insane. He couldn't demand, command, or even moan--he couldn't risk a sound. 

He gasped as Blair suckled a nipple into his mouth. He began thrashing his head back and forth, convinced he couldn't take anymore. He moved to flip them over but was stopped by a growl. 

He looked down and moaned at the expression on Blair's face. It was possessive and animalistic. His eyes flashed in the little light there was in the room. 

/you claimed me now i claim you/ Blair sent as he began on the other nipple. 

Jim moaned as quietly as he could as Blair sucked his nipples into aching hardness. He sighed as Blair abandoned his nipples to trace designs over his chest with his tongue. But as Blair began to trace the designs over his stomach, Jim's skin became more sensitive and the vibrations from Blair's humming and purring became almost unbearable. 

Blair traced pentagrams, circles with horns, and cat eyes over his lover's body. He didn't know why he felt compelled to hum that strange, hypnotic tune as he did so. The compulsion to do this, to mark his lover this way, was almost overwhelming and intensely erotic. By the time he reached Jim's pubic hair, Blair was more aroused than he had ever been before. 

Jim was trying to whimper quietly, but when Blair slowly licked Jim's cock from root to tip, Jim bit his hand and arched. Jim felt Blair's talented tongue wrap around the head of his cock, then his mate's warm, wet mouth embraced the tip and slid down. Jim clapped the other hand to his mouth and moaned. He barely felt the pain as his teeth broke through the skin. 

Jim was dying. He was sure of it, because pleasure like this could only be had in some paganistic heaven. He watched Blair suck and swallow repeatedly as his pleasure hummed through the link. And, then, Jim gasped and arched as Blair began to purr while Jim's cock was in his mouth. The vibrations on his oversensitive flesh made him shudder. He began to babble through the link. 

/no please i need it i want it love you so much please love i need it/ 

Jim trembled a bit as Blair ran his hands up his thighs. The kiss that followed wasn't long, but as Blair licked the faint traces of blood from his lips, Jim could feel Blair becoming more excited. 

Then Jim felt Blair's cold, slick fingers circling his anus. He gasped then bit down on his hand again as Blair began to slowly stretch him. The pleasure was mindbending. Dimly, Jim could taste the blood from where he had bit his hand before, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was Blair pulling his ass onto his thighs and the hardness beginning to push its way into his ass. 

Jim gasped as he felt Blair slide home. He moaned as Blair pulled his hand from his mouth. He watched as Blair licked at the blood just barely welling out of the newest bite. 

/so sweet/ Blair sent to his partner as he let the hand drop. He began to hungrily kiss his lover. /but nothing is as sweet as this/ 

Blair began to rock back and forth slowly. He could feel Jim tightening and relaxing rhythmically around him. It was maddening, but Blair was determined to drag this out as long as possible. 

Jim moaned and whimpered into Blair's mouth. From this angle, every stroke rubbed against his prostate, and the slow pace that his lover refused to alter was driving him insane. The waves of pleasure peaked and ebbed, the crest reaching higher and higher. 

Suddenly, every muscle in Jim's body clenched, and as though from far away, Jim heard his lover growl. Then Jim came. A scream begged to tear loose, but with phenomenal control, only whimpers escaped to be muffled by his lover's mouth, and he imagined that every design his lover had traced on his body glowed. 

Blair growled and came in delicious golden waves. 

"Dodi li ve-ani lo," Blair whispered into his lover's ear as he slowly pulled away. 

"What does that mean?" Jim panted quietly. 

"'My beloved is mine and I am his,'" Blair murmured sleepily. 

"Dodi li ve-ani lo," Jim mumbled as he fell asleep.   
  


* * *

Simon stared across the room at Regina. She was lovely, he thought. Then she looked up at him. He quickly tore his eyes away and went back to reading his files. 

Then a weight suddenly settled beside him. "I got your flowers. After that fight, I was so mad. I clumped into my office after running a few miles and there they were-- beautiful red roses with traces of gold." 

"I'm glad you liked them," Simon said as he set aside the file he was staring at. "I couldn't understand why you got so angry with me." He watched her grin. It took an edge off of her reserve and made her seem much more approachable. 

"I live by a strict moral code, Simon. When you accused me of burning down a place for orphans and runaways, you were insulting me, accusing me of having no honor," Regina said softly. "Now why were you so angry?" 

"I thought you were patronizing me." Simon said just as softly. 

"Never would I patronize someone who has come so far, Simon. When Blair first told me that he was an observer with the Major Crimes Unit, I researched you, and I know you are a good man, and now I know that you have more thorns than a rose bush," she said as she smiled up at him. 

Brown watched from a corner as the two began to talk. He nudged Ryf awake and pointed toward them. Ryf just smiled and shook his head, then went back to sleep.   
  


* * *

Jim suddenly sat straight up in bed. Simon was whispering at the door. "Jim, if you're in there, you need to go ahead and move to your room. Everyone else is asleep." 

Jim moaned and flopped back onto the bed. He smiled as Blair mumbled in his sleep and turned over. Blair had given him a real workout tonight. Jim leaned over and kissed him on the lips, waking Blair slightly. 

/i have to go love/ Jim sent as he got up and began to dress. 

/love you sleep tight/ Blair sent hazily. 

Jim grinned. /love you too chief/ he sent, then hurried to his own cold bed.   
  


* * *

Regina just stared at Jim and Blair as they made breakfast. The two of them had been together last night, and both smelled of magic. Had Blair used his magic by instinct last night to bind Jim to him? she wondered as they moved around the kitchen. 

One of them seemed to always know where the other was. She smiled and turned away. Such was fate. Sometimes you got love and sometimes .... Her gaze rested on Simon. 

She had heard him warn Jim last night; perhaps he was a better man than she had first estimated, and he had sent her flowers after that fight they had had at The Haven. Aside from that, however, he was still much too full of himself. He believed in himself absolutely, which is a dangerous position for a Shifter, especially an accident. She grinned then. He would hate to be thought of as an accident. 

It was almost time to talk to Simon. She had to tell him and get him ready before Adrienne decided she needed to set fire to this house. Adrienne would know who and what Simon was the minute she saw him. 

She sighed then. Adrienne, she thought, what I wish I could do to you! A rage leapt up from her heart. You have stirred too many embers, Adrienne. You have hurt Katlyn and Blair. A hundred years ago I could have made you disappear .... 

"Regina, do you know if Katlyn's up?" Blair asked. 

She looked up at him. He knew what was in her heart. /i am alright reconciler/ "She should be. I'll go check on her." 

Regina climbed the stairs and went down the hall to knock on Katlyn's door. "Katlyn, Katlyn, breakfast is almost done." She paused, listening. There was no sound. "KATLYN!!" she shouted as she pounded on the door and jiggled the door knob. 

"What's the matter?" Simon asked from the head of the stairs. 

Instead of answering him, Regina took a step back and kicked the door off of its hinges. She ran inside, fearing the worst, that Adrienne had somehow managed to abduct Katlyn from under their very noses. 

There were no signs of a struggle; however, there was a note on the unslept-in bed. 

> I've gone to clean up my mess, Regina. If I'm not back in a few days, give Little One to Blair and pray for me on my birthdays. 
> 
> Katlyn. 

"What is going on?" Blair said from the doorway. 

Regina handed him the note, then sat heavily on the floor. She put her head in her hands. Goddess, help her, she prayed, please, Bastet, look after your own.   
  


* * *

Blair watched Regina gaze out of the window. He was very worried now, and he knew that Jim felt terrible. The only time Katlyn could have left was when he and Jim had been making love. If Jim hadn't followed him, he would have been one wall away from Katlyn. 

/it's not your fault blair or yours jim you couldn't have stopped her even if she had wanted you too/ Regina sent them. Then she got up and made a roast beef sandwich. She sat at the counter to eat, which brought her into Simon's line of sight. 

"Regina, are you sure you don't know of any other place Katlyn could have gone?" Simon asked softly as he stood across from her. 

"No," she snapped. 

"What mess was she referring to?" Simon asked. 

"A long time ago, when Adrienne's mother died, she believed that there was more she could have done for Thyra. She feels she is to blame for this," Regina said emotionlessly. 

She stared down at her now tasteless sandwich. It was some very good, very rare roast beef she had asked for specifically. She sighed and pushed it away. It was amazing what Simon did for her appetites. He inflamed her sex drive but made her lose her appetite for food. 

Regina came to a decision. She could see him gathering courage for the next question, and she knew how to break the news of his abilities to him. 

"Simon, let's go through Katlyn's things. Maybe there's something there that will give us a clue," Regina said with the air of someone who had just gotten a brilliant idea. As she left the room, she caught Blair looking at her strangely. Inwardly, she smiled. The child was no fool.   
  


* * *

After they entered the room, Simon felt a buzz in the back of his mind and turned to face Regina. She was standing with her eyes closed and a look of intense concentration on her face. 

"What is it, Regina?" Simon asked quietly. 

Regina opened her eyes, which seemed to glow as if her gaze could pierce every wall he had ever built between himself and the world. 

"Do you know how old I am, Simon?" she asked. 

Simon tried to pull away from her gaze, but he was mesmerized by it. "I don't know. About thirty," he said in a monotone. 

She laughed. It was a tinkling, joyous sound but old at the same time. "I am three hundred and three years old, Simon. I am one of the True Bred Shifters." 

Simon was shocked. If he had been able to move, he would have went downstairs and had a very long talk with Blair. 

"Simon," she said softly as she approached him, "Blair asked me to come here to observe you." 

Simon shuddered when she touched him. Suddenly, he could move again. He took a step back. "Why?" he rasped. 

"I can't go into all the why's right now. I can tell you that we began as a mutation in the gene pool. We can interbreed with normal humans, and the children from such matings don't live as long or sustain the Shift as long as a True Bred or almost True Bred." She stopped and turned away for a moment. 

Then she turned around and speared him again with her gaze, but this time it was different. It was a look of understanding and something else he didn't recognize. 

"And sometimes, like all mutations, it can suddenly spring up from the gene pool," she said softly. Then she walked right up to him and placed her hand over his heart. 

"You, Simon, are the equivalent of a halfling. Half human, half Shifter--you will live for another ..." she paused as she stared into his eyes, "another two hundred or so years." 

Simon pulled away and started for the door. She was insane. He couldn't be .... He was stopped by some sort of forcefield covering the open door. "What the hell?" he nearly shouted. 

"Shout all you'd like, or perhaps you would like to pound at the doorway? This is all part of being a Shifter, Simon. Some of us have what humans would call 'magic,'" she said with a smile. 

Simon shivered. He didn't feel threatened, but he felt that if she wanted to, she could eat him for breakfast. "What if I don't want this?" 

"If Adrienne weren't about, I would say 'so be it' and leave until you grew too old to look so young. Then I would move you to a safer place where you could be trained," Regina said solemnly. "But...." 

"Move?! Why? What about my family? My son?!" Simon shouted. 

"Simon, there will be things you will have to put aside," Regina explained quietly. "Now as I was saying, since Adrienne is here, you could be used against yourself. You have none of the self-defense mechanisms that you will need when we eventually confront her. Besides, we will need your strength." 

"There is no way in HELL I would leave my family behind," Simon roared. "You are insane if you think I could leave my son and any children my son may have." 

"Simon, listen to me. We are different, strange. We have powers that make men fear us or want to experiment on us," Regina almost shouted. Then visibly trying to calm herself, she continued. "Will you subject your family to such a fate?" 

Simon stared at her hard. She had a point, but was she insane, or was she telling the truth? he wondered. He thought back to the compound where the government had kept Blair after kidnapping him. Naomi and Blair had shifted, or whatever the hell they called it, to escape. They *had* been a help. 

"All right. I'll concede the point for now," he grumbled. "What first?" he said decisively. 

Regina nodded her head. Perhaps he will do, she thought. "First, take off your clothes. You can't shift in them." 

At Simon's shocked look, she laughed. He was struck again by the sound of it--young and old at once. He gaped as she disrobed. 

"Well, I have seen it all, Simon. You have nothing new to show me," she said as she folded her underwear. 

Simon shrugged and began to take off his clothes.   
  


* * *

Daylight, she thought, a curse on daylight! She swung away from the window and began to pace the length of the dirty loft. She had rented it because it was close to Blair and his pet human. 

At the thought of his name, she began to go through the litany that had sustained her hate. Because of him, her mother died. Because of him, she had lived with her grandmother. Because of him, she never measured up to her grandmother's standards. Because of him, nothing she did ever turned out right. 

He would get his punishment. She knew a lot about punishment. Her grandmother had been a master of punishment. A cold shoulder here, a missed meal there and when these hadn't worked, there had always been the basement. 

His punishment, however, wouldn't be wet and dark. His sins would be cleansed by fire. She turned back to the bomb on the table. It was beautifully intricate and absolutely lethal. She was sure she had thought of anything Joel Taggart could possibly think of to disarm it. 

Soon, it would be planted. Soon, Blair would die. And Katlyn, the woman whose cowardice had murdered her mother, would die with him. But first, she smiled as she thought of all the other bombs being planted by her followers, everything he loved would burn.   
  


* * *

Katlyn grimaced as she delicately picked her way through the sewer. It had been a long time since she had tracked someone using her Othersense, but she knew she was close. 

In fact, she almost stumbled over the first bomb. She quickly scanned the sewer map she had memorized when she first moved to the city. She was under the police station. 

She carefully lifted it and examined it. It was surprisingly simple, and obviously, it was never expected to be found before it had caused its damage. She quickly disarmed it and began to look for others. This one was too small to cause much damage to the building above. 

Quickly, she found four more. More than enough to shake the foundation and cause quite a bit of structural damage. After disarming each one, she put them in a plastic bag. 

She tore a sheet of paper out of the notepad she always carried with her and wrote: 

> BOMBS!!!!!! 
> 
> Blair, I found these under the police station in a sewer. I'm safe so don't worry. You should have them check the sewers under wherever it is you spend a lot of time. 
> 
> Katlyn 

Then she pushed up a sewer cover above her. Good, it was in the department garage. She carefully pushed the bag over the edge. She thought she heard someone outside and quickly pulled the cover in place and dropped back into the sewer. 

Then she got on the trail of whoever had planted the bombs.   
  


* * *

Simon growled and rose from the floor. They had been at this for more than thirty minutes, and his patience was wearing thin. He walked over to where his clothes were. 

"Simon, sit back down," Regina said softly as she got up and walked toward him. 

He watched her come toward him. Her eyes ran over him appreciatively as though she were watching the play of his muscles below his skin. It made him nervous and a little excited, and he lashed out at her. 

"This isn't working. 'Find my center. Touch the cat within me,'" Simon sneered. "This is a load of crap!" 

"Simon," Regina almost shouted. 

Simon whirled around and stared as Regina suddenly began to change. It was exactly as he remembered Naomi changing that night so long ago. Right in front of his eyes, Regina became a lioness. 

He backed away as she padded toward him. He gasped as she changed back to human form not two feet from him. 

"Crap?" she said as she lifted a brow. "You have too much self-control, Simon. You have learned to bury your feelings under inhibitions. Our people were meant to be free. It is our nature to love fiercely and mate often. This has been denied you." She turned away. 

"Perhaps, it is too late for you. To be able to Shift, you must be able to push past all your barriers and find joy in everything you do," Regina finished with a sigh. 

"I am not some virgin, you know. I do have a son, and I had a wife," Simon said fiercely. He was trying not to notice the way she moved and the way she looked. "I may not be *promiscuous,* but I'm not a prude." 

Regina turned back. It was like that morning at The Haven. He could see her anger. 

"Are you accusing me of being some type of whore?" Regina asked coldly. 

"I don't know. What do you call a woman who parades herself in front of a man naked as the day she was born?" Simon asked as he leaned against a wall. He knew he was treading on thin ice. 

But he could also feel something else, an attraction that had been building ever since they had first met. He watched her as she stalked toward him. Ever step was dignified, angry, and made her breasts bounce slightly. 

Regina got as close to him as she could without actually touching him. She could smell him, hear his heart beat, and feel the heat from his body. She had smelled his pheromones from the minute she had taken off her clothes; but instead of reacting to her nakedness, he had controlled himself. That was when she knew he had too much control. 

"I call her free," Regina growled softly. "That scares you, doesn't it? The way it has scared normal men for generations. No man can stand to see a free woman. You feel threatened by me, by my sexuality." She pressed closer to him, shivering at the feel of his warm skin against her. He felt like Africa, warm and uncompromising. He was all that she had loved about her home. 

She looked deep into his eyes. The need and desire she saw there melted her anger. She looked into his eyes and saw a need for love that his wife had never touched and the kind that a son could never provide. My Goddess, she thought, I already love him. 

"Simon, do you want to let go? Do you want to be free?" she whispered. 

Simon groaned. "Regina, I don't take sex lightly. I believe that you have to love someone before you can make love to them," he said softly. "Don't seduce me." 

"I'm not doing this to make you better able to Shift. I'm doing this because I want you, and I love you. I've already told you that I've researched you, Simon, and last night I got to know you better," Regina said softly. "I know that you are the one I want." 

Regina watched the emotions play through his eyes. Being this close to him, she could feel the emotions tumbling under the surface. He wanted to love her, and he desired her. But his reserve, that part of him he had used to wall off his emotions to survive in this world, wouldn't let him. 

"How can anyone fall in love in just a few days?" Simon asked desperately. 

She smiled. "Simon, we have the ability to recognize our mates, our lovers. It is part of who we are. If you do not feel the same, tell me now ..." she paused and took a step back, "and I'll put on my clothes and lower the field. When you're ready, you can seek me out to learn what you need to know." 

Simon looked deep inside himself. There it was--that damn wall. It had been there most of his life. He knew it was there, and his ex-wife had come to recognize it as well. He thought briefly of telling her that he wasn't ready for this yet; but he knew that if he did, he would lose something precious, something he desperately wanted. 

Simon reached out his hand and cupped her left cheek. "I am not a ... loving person. I yell a lot, and I tend to bring my work home with me. I don't know if I can be what you want," Simon said softly. 

Regina smiled and nuzzled his hand. The vibration from her purr was shockingly erotic. "I wouldn't take you as anything less than what you are right now." 

Simon pulled her in for a kiss. It was hard, hot. Then he felt her mind. 

/yes love yes i love you love you/ Regina sent him as she was consumed by his kiss. 

Simon gasped and pulled back slightly. "What was that?" 

Regina smiled up at him and pulled him back for another kiss. /it was my mind talking to your mind you can do it too just try/ 

Simon lost himself in her kiss. She still tasted of the sandwich she had been eating earlier, and there was the faint taste of nicotine. Her tongue felt raspy, and as he stroked it with his, she began to purr. He moaned thickly. 

He reached down and picked her up. Gasping as her legs came around to clamp around his hips, he quickly walked over to the bed. He groaned as every step rubbed him against her wetness. As they fell onto the bed, he slammed inside her. 

The shock sent sensation rippling up his spine. /so good/ he threw at her, then he froze in place, suddenly realizing her could have hurt her. 

Regina was lost. The shock of his entry was exquisite, and his compliment was barely processed. Then he just stopped. Regina tightened her legs and arched, feeling him move deeper. /move damn it/ she sent as she growled with frustration and dug her nails into his back /move i need you move/ 

Simon felt something give inside with the sharp pleasure- pain of her nails. This woman could take everything he had to give. He growled and slid his hands so that he could push his chest away from hers. He looked down at her. 

Her hair was mussed, and her eyes glowed. She moaned as he began to thrust inside her. Then as he felt himself beginning to approach orgasm, he slowed to a smooth rocking. He wanted this to last as long as possible. 

She growled up at him. /no faster please simon please/ 

He lowered his head and began to suck at her nipples. She threw back her head and gasped. He surprised himself with a purr. He began to thrust into her again. He could feel her orgasm approaching as well as his own. 

He reared back from her and slammed into her once, twice, and on the third time came with a roar. He heard her scream and felt her nails draw blood. Then powerful contractions milked his cock. He gasped every time her body squeezed him. 

Simon collapsed on her, exhausted. He felt raw, exposed. He felt her hands sweep over his back, and there was a slight tingling, then the stinging from the scratches stopped. He lay there half on her, half in her and was content. He began to purr as he dozed. He smiled as he heard her do the same.   
  


* * *

Simon slowly woke up from his nap. Regina was already awake and watching him. 

/simon you are the strongest man i have seen in many years/ Regina sent as she stretched under him. /i love you very much my mate/ 

Simon was quiet as he thought about that. My mate, he thought as he kissed her slowly and thoroughly, this woman is my mate. 

"I love you too," Simon said with a smile. He rolled off of her and got up. "However, by now, everyone is going to be wondering what's going on up here." He sighed and said, "Of course, Jim already knows." 

Regina laughed and got up to stand beside him. "I've shielded this room against all sound, smell, and sight. No one could possibly know what's going on up here." She embraced him and nuzzled his chest. 

Simon held her for awhile, swaying softly. Remembering something he had seen earlier, he looked down at her stomach. On her lower abdomen, there was a tattoo. He ran his hand across it. 

"This doesn't feel like a tattoo," Simon said to himself. 

"It isn't a tattoo in the usual sense of the word, Simon. I was born with it," Regina replied patiently. 

"You were born with a tattoo of a lion on your stomach?" Simon asked incredulously. 

"Yes, it marks me as an Incarnation of Bastet," she said solemnly. "It means that I am Her Priestess for my people, and I must defend them always." 

Simon just shook his head. He was still getting used to all of this; and because of all the shocks, he still felt vulnerable. From instinct he looked deep inside himself and was surprised when he didn't find the wall. Instead he saw it--the cat, that part of himself he had walled off all those years ago to blend in. 

Simon pulled slowly away from Regina, and then he called the cat to him. The sensation of the Shift was strange. It wasn't a pleasure, but the feeling bordered on pain. When he opened his eyes, he was staring up at Regina. He noticed the improvement in his vision, but now he couldn't see colors. 

He padded to the bureau and put his paws on top of the dresser and stared. He was a Siberian tiger--snowy white with black stripes.   
  


* * *

Blair kept glancing at the stairs. Jim had been watching him for the last hour and a half. At first, he had been tense, then alarmed. Then he had almost relaxed and began to read. Then about twenty minutes later, he had gotten up and started for the stairs, then stopped and smiled. He sat back down, and now he just kept glancing at the stairs. 

/hey what's up chief are you minding someone else's business/ Jim asked as he got up to get something to drink. 

Blair grinned without looking up. /let's just say that i didn't need to pry to get the information i need and besides this is going to make our lives a bit easier/ 

/what do you mean/ Jim asked as he came back to the living room and picked up his book. 

Just then Jim heard footsteps on the stairs. He looked up and stared. It was Simon. Simon was smiling, and he looked more relaxed than Jim could ever remember him looking before. 

Then he caught a glimpse of Regina. She had a supremely satisfied smile on her face. Her lips were slightly bruised, and she was slightly flushed. Then Jim smelled something--sex. Jim just smiled. Blair was probably right. Their lives were probably going to get much easier. 

"Sir," Ryf said as he caught sight of Simon, "did you find anything among Ms. Wildcat's things?" 

"No, Ryf," Simon said as he sobered for a minute, "we didn't." 

There was suddenly a knock at the door. Ryf and Brown carefully peeked through the windows on either side of the door. It was Taggart. They quickly let him in. 

"Captain," Joel said as he handed him a grubby, stained piece of paper, "this and a bag of defused bombs were found in the garage under the department." 

Regina pulled at Simon's arm. He turned toward her so she could see it too. 

"It's Katlyn's handwriting, Simon," Regina breathed. 

"Blair, we need you to make a list of places that you frequent often. Cafes, museums, libraries, places on campus--places that people go to look for you," Simon said as he handed the note to Blair. 

Blair paled slightly, then started for his bookbag. "I'm on it, Simon." 

Regina walked to a chair and flopped down in it. She lowered her head and held it in her hands. "At least we know she was alright earlier today," Regina said softly. 

Simon walked over and knelt beside her. He slowly pulled her hands down and smiled. "She's going to be all right, Regina. We'll find her, and we'll find the other bombs." 

Regina smiled at him, then she clutched at his hands. "I hope so." Please, Goddess, she prayed as she stared into her mate's eyes, please let all of us walk out of this alive.   
  


* * *

Adrienne watched the sun begin its descent. She smiled as she heard a commotion on the stairs leading up to the loft. So her guest had arrived, she thought with a smile. 

She turned around just as her neophytes threw Katlyn to the floor. Katlyn had scratches on her face and hands from fighting off Adrienne's followers. Her hands were chained in front of her with strange, luminescent metal. 

"So the coward thought she could catch me," Adrienne said brightly. "Put her on the table," she ordered. 

"You won't get away with this," Katlyn hissed. "You may kill me, but Regina will see you burn for this. You have broken the most sacred law. You convinced people, children, that you were a goddess. Regina will not stop until you are dead!" Katlyn screamed as they chained her to the table. 

"Do you know what this is?" Adrienne asked as one of her attendants brought a cart closer. 

"It's a bomb," Katlyn said emotionlessly. 

"It's just not any bomb," Adrienne said softly. She gathered up several electrodes and began to secure them to Katlyn's skin. Then she hooked up several wires to the electrodes and hit a button on a remote control. The bomb lit up. 

"Now you are the bomb," Adrienne said with a dark hilarity. "To disable it they will have to work around you. Your heart rate and blood pressure must remain within a specific range, which of course I won't tell you, or the bomb will go off. Ingenuous, isn't it?" 

"You're insane, Adrienne, but that won't matter to Regina. She is going to torture you anyway," Katlyn said softly as she dropped into a meditative trance. She began to consciously control her heart beat.   
  


* * *

Joel got off the phone and turned toward Simon. 

"We've found more than fifty bombs. Every place on the list had an average of five bombs set under it. All of them were set to be detonated by remote control," Joel said expressionlessly. "We found blood in the sewer underneath Blair's office." 

Regina was off of the couch and beside Simon before either could blink. "Have you had time to analyze it yet?" she asked breathelessly. 

"No, ma'am, we haven't, but it looks like someone was struggling pretty hard. It also looks like at least two people were dragged away from the scene. They're searching for bodies now," Joel said quietly. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more." 

Regina smiled. It was a sad, Mona Lisa smile. "Don't be sorry, Joel. The entire department has done its best for us." 

Joel returned her smile and said, "Thank you, ma'am." This woman was a real lady, as his mother would say.   
  


* * *

Adrienne stared out of the window, then turned toward her worshippers. She was dressed in a black robe and nothing else. As the city burned, they would have an orgy, she had decided earlier. Then she would send a note to dearest Regina telling her where Blair could come to pick up Katlyn. She would kill them both then and be safely out of the city. She grinned at the thought. 

"My children, my enemy will pay now for all the evil he has done," she intoned as she picked up the remote detonator from the altar. She pressed the trigger and waited. 

No explosions, no fire--they were looking up at her expectantly. Somehow they had known; someone had told them. She glanced at Katlyn. *She* had done it somehow. Anat had not shown her this, she raged inwardly. 

She calmly set down the detonator. She had to find a scapegoat before they began to question her. She thought quickly. She had only one Hispanic follower. He would do. 

"Someone has betrayed me," she said calmly--then in a grieved tone, "one of you have betrayed me!" 

She smiled inwardly at the groans and exclamations from her followers. They were already blaming each other. 

"You!" she shouted as she pointed toward the young Hispanic man. "You have done this! I see your guilt, your sin." 

She almost laughed as the others fell on him before he could speak. As they tore him apart with their bare hands, she walked over to Katlyn. 

"Well, coward, you seem to have outsmarted me this time, but I will still get Blair and you in one swoop. Perhaps Regina as well, if I play my cards right," she mused quietly. 

She frowned as Katlyn's life signs did not change. She wanted her to react, to cry, to do something other than meditate. Adrienne smiled as she thought of Katlyn's death. 

The bomb wasn't made of a plastic explosive. Instead, it was something she had cooked up not long ago. She had tested it with the last human sacrifice. It covered the body and burned them alive. Not hot enough to kill, but hot enough to burn. She had it set up to spray over a large area then ignite. 

She looked back at her followers. The young man was dead, and they were milling about. Adrienne called them over and chose ten to take Katlyn and the bomb to a warehouse across town. Then she chose another one, a woman, and led her off to the side. 

Adrienne smiled down at her. "I have a very special task for you, my dear one," she said maternally. She handed her a vial of purple liquid. "Drink this." She waited while the woman drank the viscous fluid. "Now, take this envelope and hurry to the police station. You have twenty minutes to get there. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Goddess." 

"Go then," she said with a smile. The woman ran for the stairs. 

She turned back to the rest of her followers. "You," she said as she pointed to a man, "get that box there on the floor beside the altar." 

She smiled at him as he brought it back. She opened it and stared at the red fluid. Yes, definitely time for the orgy, she thought as she called them forward. She smiled even wider at the thought of the liberal amount of strychnine she had placed in each vial. They would fuck to death, she thought gleefully as she watched them quickly swallow the liquid.   
  


* * *

"Captain, we kept one bomb active but stripped the plastique. It just went off," Joel said into the phone. 

"Did we miss any?" Simon asked as he glanced at the faces around him. 

"No, sir," Joel reported. He smiled as he heard Blair whoop. "But now we have to assume she knows that we knew about them. Oh and by the way, the blood work came back. Some of the blood we found matches Katlyn's." 

"Damn. Joel, arrange another safe house. We're going to move to a new one. I don't want to take the chance that Adrienne has some how found out about this one," Simon said grimly. 

"I'll get on it, Simon," Joel said, then hung up. 

"What's the matter, Sir?" Jim said softly. 

"Suddenly, I just don't feel very safe here, Jim. I don't know what you'd call it--intuition maybe," Simon sighed as he turned toward Regina. 

"What is it?" she said faintly. 

"Some of the blood they found matches Katlyn's." 

For the first time in this century, Regina fainted. 

Simon caught Regina just before she hit the ground. He pulled her upright with a grunt. He hadn't realized earlier how heavy she was. 

"Regina, Regina, Regina!" The volume of Simon's voice escalated as he shook her. 

Blair shook his head. /simon don't yell at her talk to her this way/ 

Simon whipped his head to look at Blair. Blair shrugged and smiled. 

Simon concentrated and with surprising ease sent /regina you have to wake up we have to go/ 

Regina moaned, gasped, then grabbed onto his shirt. "Katlyn," she whispered, "Blair, I know where Katlyn is." 

Blair stiffened. "Where?" he growled. 

"They're moving her," Regina said faintly. Her eyes were still closed, and her hands were beginning to shred Simon's shirt. "A warehouse across town. I can't contact her, but I know something's wrong." 

Ryf and Brown exchanged a glance and went back to watching the scene unfold. They didn't know what the hell was going on. Who was this woman? 

"Come on, Blair, we'll go and check it out," Jim said quietly. 

"NO!" Regina screamed. She jerked away from Simon and opened her eyes. "You can't face Adrienne as you are. We must go back to my house. There are things that you will need." 

"What things?" Blair asked coldly. He was struggling to control his anger. He could feel it welling up, and he felt that if he didn't move soon, he would explode. 

"Blair, there is more going on here than the fight between Adrienne and you," Regina said stridently, then lowered her voice. "You are Bastet's, but Adrienne is Anat's. This is more than an argument or a blood sacrifice. This a battle between good and evil. There are things in my home that my House has been keeping for thousands of years. Things that are only used in the most dire of circumstances." 

"But..." Jim started. 

Regina interrupted him. "Blair, Bastet's Chest has many items that can help us. The Goddess armor alone will give us a better chance." 

"All right, Regina, but we have to be quick," Blair said impatiently. 

"Let's go," Simon said. 

"Uh, Sir, what the hell is going on?" Brown asked in a very polite tone. 

Regina and Simon exchanged a glance. "It's a need-to- know kind of thing," Regina said quietly. 

"Don't worry," Simon said with a smile. "It's not illegal" /yet/ he sent to Regina, but all he got was a wan smile.   
  


* * *

The young woman hurried into police headquarter's. She was beginning to feel light-headed and nauseous, and her left arm was beginning to hurt. The evil one must have put a spell on this place to keep her from delivering the Goddess's message. 

She elbowed her way to the information desk. The clerk stared at her a moment. 

"Well?" he asked impatiently. 

"I have a message that *must* be delivered to Blair Sandburg," she said breathlessly. 

The clerk grabbed a pencil and stared at her. "And that would be?" he said as she gasped for breath. "'Come to Warehouse #245 on the wharf. (gasp) Bring your entourage, (gasp) but no police. (gasp) I am waiting. Adrienne.'" The young woman's eyes rolled up in her head, and she tried to scream as she felt her heart burst.   
  


* * *

As they hurried to the car, Simon's cell phone rang. He quickly answered it as he sat down in the passenger's seat. 

"Just say it, Joel." 

"Damn." 

"How?" 

"Well, find out!" he roared as he closed the cell phone with a forceful click. He leaned against the window and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Sir," Brown said tentatively. 

"Adrienne sent a girl to the station to deliver a message. We're to go to Warehouse #245 alone. No back up or police around. The girl appears to have had some sort of heart attack at the desk after delivering the message," Simon said wearily. 

"Sir, do you still want to go to Ms. Dumas's residence?" Brown asked. 

Simon turned around to look at Regina. Her face was blank, but he could feel the emotions tumbling below the surface. "Yes, we are still going to Regina's house," he said with a smile. 

Regina grinned back at him. It was a small grin though with very little teeth. He could feel that she knew something that he didn't, but he knew that if it were important she would tell him. 

Regina sighed as he turned around. Katlyn's and Blair's lives were in danger, but she knew she shouldn't be going to help them. She looked down and smiled gravely. Don't worry, little one, she thought as she placed a hand over the tattoo, over her womb. 

Blair kept glancing at Regina. There was something wrong. He had known Regina in more dangerous circumstances, and she had never been afraid, but now she was. 

It wasn't a debilitating fear. It was a protective fear. He decided that it was fear for her mate, and then glanced at his own mate. He couldn't help but feel that this was his fault. 

/blair stop blaming yourself/ Jim sent him as he threw an arm around his shoulders and tugged him even closer than he already was. 

/this is my fault/ Blair threw at Jim as he tugged away. /jim brown can see and ryf is bound to see/ 

/i don't care now do you want to know how i see all of this/ Jim threw back as he pulled Blair close again. 

/all right how do you see this/ 

/i see a friend of your mother's protecting a four-year-old boy from something he had no business having to deal with and a little girl whose mother died in a terrible way trying to deal with her grief instead of getting mad with her mother for dying she got mad at you/ Jim reasoned. 

/that doesn't change the fact that if it weren't for me you wouldn't be here/ Blair sent wearily. 

/blair i love you very much if we were still friends i would still be here for you because that's what friendship is all about/ Jim smiled down at his lover /besides i've learned more about your past in the last day or so than i have in the last year and a half/ 

Blair just shook his head. /i'll never understand you you should be feeling something besides this ... acceptance/ 

/oh make no mistake i'm pretty angry chief but that's directed at adrienne and if i get my hands around her neck she's going to be dead/ Jim sent as he growled softly. 

Blair laughed. /wait in line/ 

The car pulled into the driveway. "Do you want me to go inside with you, sir?" Brown asked as they all began to get out of the car. 

/no simon there are things here they should not see/ Regina transmitted to him urgently. 

"I don't think so, Brown. We should be out in a few minutes," Simon said when he felt Regina's eyes cut his way.   
  


* * *

Jim stared around him. The walls were full of pictures. Some were in color, but a large percentage were in black and white. There were even some small portraits. 

Many of the people were young. He spotted a few that were in some of the really old black and whites and in some of the older color photographs. Most of them didn't look old enough in the color photograhs for the time period the pictures spanned. 

"This way," Regina said quietly as she led them down into the basement. She led them across the almost pitch black basement to the far wall with Jim heading up the rear. 

He was surprised when none of them stumbled; then he remembered the way Blair's eyes had changed the night before. Jim shook his head. He didn't know if he would ever really get used to Blair's abilities, and he didn't even want to think about Simon's. 

As she slid her hand down the wall and traced a design where a door knob should have been, Jim noticed the smallest sliver of light. Then he felt more than heard a low hum as the wall slid open. 

Jim followed the rest in and gasped as he looked around the room. There were several painting and statues, and more swords than he had ever seen outside of a museum. He grunted as Simon backed into him. 

"What the hell?" Simon breathed. 

"I guess a three-hundred-year old woman collects a lot of things in a lifetime," Jim whispered as he watched Blair follow Regina to a trunk. 

The trunk was inlaid with gold, and the lid was decorated with emeralds and onyx. As Jim walked closer, he realized that the emeralds were part of a cat's eye design. 

"Jesus, Regina, you could probably buy a small country with this," Jim said in awe. 

Regina smiled and turned to Blair. "Open it." 

"I don't know how," Blair said as he traced a finger around the top of seamless trunk. 

"You opened the box that this," she pointed at the arm band, "came in. A lock with no key. You have magic in you, Blair. I knew it was there, but I thought that you would never need training because there seemed so little of it." 

Regina sighed and continued. "But when Jim came downstairs this morning, I could see the magic on him. You bound him to you the way the armband binds you to him. You must have done it unconsciously, because you have never been trained," she said as she raised Blair's chin. 

"If your need is great, and Bastet wishes you to have Her support, you will be able to open the chest," Regina said as she backed away. 

Jim put a hand on Blair's shoulder. "You can do it, Chief," he said softly, then he backed away a few steps. 

He watched as Blair closed his eyes and centered himself. Jim could feel all of Blair's emotions calm and still. Then as Blair began to trace his fingers around the edges of the chest, Jim could feel something stirring in Blair. 

Then Blair began to push at places on the chest--the edge of the eye, the corner of the lid. Jim could hear the minute clicks with each application of pressure. Suddenly, the lid popped open, and so did Blair's eyes. 

Jim started. Blair's eyes had changed. The pupils were elongated and cat-like. 

Blair slowly opened the chest all of the way and looked in, then beckoned Jim closer. He handed Jim a knife made of silver. It was a little heavy but perfectly balanced. A necklace was also handed to him. It was silver as well, with an onyx amulet, a cat's eye with the iris in peridot. 

As Jim put it around his neck and the necklace came into contact with his skin, he felt a tingle race through his entire body and settle, before fading, for a few seconds in the designs that Blair had traced on his body the night before. 

Blair gestured to Simon, who came toward him hesitantly. He gave Simon a vest that looked too small, but it was made of some weird, shimmery metal. Regina came forward to take off Simon's shirt. When she helped him slip into the vest, it expanded to fit him snugly. 

Then he gave Simon a necklace similar to Jim's, except its amulet was a cat's paw, gold with peridot claws. 

Regina came forward then, and Blair stared at her. 

"You can't risk your child, Regina. You must stay here," Blair said in a low, gravelly tone. 

"But ...." 

"She has spoken," Blair said with a blank expression on his face. 

Regina bowed her head and moved away. Blair took off his shirt and reached into the chest. Another vest similar to Simon's appeared. Jim moved forward automatically and helped him put it on. The metal moved under Jim's fingers as he helped Blair into it. He could have sworn it felt alive. 

Then Blair took out a knife similar to Jim's, but the handle ended with a cat's head. He slid it into a sheathe that Jim hadn't noticed before. Blair reached back in and took out a collar. It was made of the same material as the vest, and it didn't appear to have a way to close it. 

Blair put it around his neck and touched the two blunt ends together. He gasped and arched back a little as the collar adjusted itself to his neck. Jim couldn't see the joint that had to be there. It was as though the collar were now one piece. 

"You're ready to go now," Regina said softly. She opened another door. "This leads to the sewer. I will not tell Ryf and Brown how you left." 

"Regina?" Simon questioned softly. 

Regina smiled at him. "Simon, I love you. You are my mate, and our child will be of a great and sacred lineage." She kissed him. "Be careful, love. I will be in your heart. Listen to it." 

Simon hugged her to him. "I love you. I don't know how or when it happened, but you are the most important thing to me." He paused then and said, "If I don't come back, if you're really pregnant, tell Daryl." 

Regina nodded, and Simon let her go. He stepped into the corridor and walked into the blackness. Regina turned toward Blair. 

"With my shield or on it," Blair said proudly. 

"Go with the Cat," Regina answered and hugged him tightly. Blair walked into the corridor. 

"Jim, this is his fight. If he dies and you survive, it is your fight. Do you understand?" Regina said solemnly. 

"I understand, Regina," Jim said quietly. "If I don't get back, tell my brother I love him." 

"Of course," Regina said and hugged Jim too. It surprised him a little, but he returned the hug with enthusiasm, then walked after his friend and his lover.   
  


* * *

Simon stood in the sewer and looked around as his eyes became adjusted to the faint lighting. He was soon joined by Blair and Jim. "Which way?" he asked. 

"I guess I could try and follow my nose," Jim said warily. This place stank to high heaven, and he didn't want to identify any of those smells. Some things were better left unknown. 

Blair shook his head. "This way," he said quietly and started off to the left. 

"How do you know?" Simon asked curiously as he followed behind the young man. 

"I memorized a map of the city's sewers when I first came here," Blair said softly. "It's one of Regina's first lessons. Know your escape routes." 

"Smart woman," Jim said quietly. 

Blair laughed. It echoed eerily off the walls of the tunnel. He turned right and said, "You could say that. Even True Bred Shifters can die of a bullet wound--silver bullet or not. You have to be pretty smart to survive for three hundred years."   
  


* * *

Blair signaled them to be quiet. They didn't have much longer. It had taken them almost two hours to traverse the city, but now they were almost under the warehouse. The scent of the sea was growing stronger, almost overpowering the odors of the sewer. 

/are we/ 

Blair whirled and shook his head. He pointed up and then to his ear. He shook his head again. Both Jim and Simon nodded to show they understood. 

Blair opened his Othersense. It wasn't as strong as Katlyn's or Regina's, but this worked to his advantage. He didn't stand out as much to others with a strong Othersense as they would. Blair was able to probe carefully for any entrances to the warehouse from the sewer. 

Only one entrance wasn't guarded. That wasn't good. He pointed to a tunnel that branched off to the left, then held up two fingers and pointed down the tunnel they were in. Next, he picked up some of the trash around them and began to build a diagram to show them his plan. 

They would attack the two entrances with the least guards, and he would go up the middle to the unguarded entrance. He would send them the message to attack by sending a mental image of Regina, then he would go through the unguarded entrance. 

After some heated gestures, Simon and Jim finally conceded that this was the best way. While Blair distracted Adrienne, they would be able to find Katlyn and hopefully release her. But they didn't like it, not one Goddamn bit. 

It was decided that Jim would take the farthest entrance, and he and Blair kissed before parting. Blair directed Simon to the tunnel leading to the closest entrance. As Blair went on alone, he began to probe for Katlyn. 

She was alive but unresponsive, which puzzled him a bit. She wasn't unconscious or hurt, so she must be meditating. He tried to See around her but was unable to do so. 

He got into position and waited. Then he briefly touched Simon and Jim each in turn to make sure they were in position. Then he gave them the signal.   
  


* * *

Jim watched the three guards. One of them was in his thirties. His hair was just beginning to gray. Jim was willing to bet he was in charge. The other two were just kids who appeared to be about the same age. Jim decided he would take the oldest guy out and try to just knock out the other two. 

Jim felt Blair touch his mind. Then when Regina's face flashed across their link, Jim threw the knife and killed the oldest guard outright. Then Jim ran forward and met one of the other guard halfway. Jim quickly knocked this kid out and turned toward the other kid. This kid had a switchblade. 

Jim dodged him twice before seeing his chance. The kid swung in, and while he was off balance, Jim tripped him and swooped in to take the knife. Jim delivered a powerful right and knocked him out. 

Jim quickly made his way into the warehouse.   
  


* * *

There were three guards. One was a young girl, and the other two were just boys really. They didn't even looked old enough to shave. Simon hoped he wouldn't have to kill any of them. 

Simon started at the abrupt picture of his lover when it flashed through his mind. He had already taken off his pants. With his dark skin, he was almost invisible. He ran silently up to the first child and knocked her out. 

The sound of the body dropping to the ground grabbed the others' attention. Almost without thinking, Simon Shifted. The vest conformed to his new shape. As Simon tried to knock out the first man, he realized why the vest was valuable. 

The young man tried to stab Simon several times before Simon killed him. Simon slammed the other man into the wall with a swipe of a paw, knocking him out. 

Simon quickly Shifted back, put on his pants, and pulled himself through the man hole.   
  


* * *

Blair quickly pulled himself through the manhole and closed it. He found himself staring directly at Katlyn. She was bound with Goddess metal, and there were several wires running from her body to a box on a table off to the side. 

As he ran toward her, he heard two bodies fall to the ground to the left and right of him. Then he caught sight of Jim from the corner of his eyes. He was running toward him. The silver knife was bloody. 

Blair quickly glanced to the right and saw Simon also running toward him. Simon had blood on his chest,arms, and hands. Blair turned back toward Katlyn and quickly examined the chains that bound her. 

He was able to find the pattern of touches to unlock them. Then Blair glanced toward the table. Simon was backing away from it. 

/its a bomb blair/ Simon threw at him in a panic. 

Blair rushed over and examined it. There were several monitors and several canisters of a purple fluid, but there didn't appear to be a power source. Blair felt Jim look over his shoulder. 

/i don't see any way of disarming it it looks as though her heart rate and respiration are the triggers/ Jim sent calmly. 

/there's no power source/ Blair mused. Then he placed his hand in the air over the bomb and felt the magic field. It was like the one surrounding Bastet's Chest. /it's just like the chest i opened at Regina's i can stop it/ 

Blair centered himself as quickly as possible and began to run his hands over the field. He began pushing at the invisible indentations. Soon, he was focused solely on the work in front of him. He knew without saying that if he missed a key they would die. 

Suddenly, Blair felt the field fall away and heard the monitors fall silent. Simon clapped him on the back, then began to undo all the connections between Katlyn and the bomb. 

Jim gave Blair a hug and a kiss. 

"Whhhhit-whooo," Katlyn whistled weakly as she sat up. 

Then they heard a clapping. It was loud and mocking. 

"Well done, little reconciler," Adrienne said as she stepped forward. 

Blair began to move toward her. "You are evil, Adrienne. You used your power for evil. You deserve the death I will give you." 

"Wait a minute, little man," Adrienne said with a sneer. She waved her hand, and several people were pushed and shoved into a semicircular area across from the open place where Blair and the others stood. 

Ryf, Brown, Joel, the rest of the Major Crimes unit, and Regina were cuffed together. 

Adrienne said, "Jim, Simon, Katlyn--join them," as her followers produced automatic weapons and pointed them at the crowd, "or watch them die." 

As Jim and Simon helped Katlyn over to the others, Adrienne threw off her cloak. She was nude except for a vest and collar similar to Blair's, but they were tarnished. "Shall we dance, reconciler?" Adrienne asked with a smile as she drew her knife. 

Blair removed his pants and soaked shoes. "I believe we shall." 

Blair drew his knife as they began to dance around each other, looking for an opening. He kept his eye on her as they circled he mentally ran through all the sparring matches he had seen her in at the festivals. He knew that she tended to overbalance when lunging and that she had a bad habit of leaving her guard open when fighting in half-Shift. Other than that, he hadn't seen any other weaknesses. 

"What's the matter, *little* man? Trying to figure out how to run away?" Adrienne sneered. 

"No, I'm trying to decide what to put on your headstone," Blair answered. He swiftly squashed the anger the nickname produced. He couldn't allow his emotions to get the best of him. 

"If you kneel now and give me your life, I will let the others go," Adrienne said cheerfully. 

"Bullshit! You've never kept a promise in your life," Blair said softly. Come on, he thought, give me an opening, damn it! 

Blair heard Jim gasp as Adrienne lunged. As they came together in a the flurry of blocks and flashes of light reflected from knife blades, droplets of someone's blood spattered on the floor. Then Adrienne thrust Blair from her. 

She was bleeding from a wound on her thigh. Adrienne passed her hand along the wound, and it scabbed over. She looked up at Blair and growled. 

"What's the matter, Adrienne? Did you expect to find me flabby and slow like you?" Blair grinned at her. He could feel the blood lust rising. He struggled to force it down. 

Adrienne lunged at Blair again. This time she was angry, and the ring of knife hitting knife was followed by the thud of a knife hitting the table where the bomb was. Blair stumbled as Adrienne managed to push him away. 

Blair grinned at her and threw his knife. It landed beside her own. "I'm not like you, Adrienne. I'll fight fair." 

Adrienne stared at him, then she half-Shifted. Her skin sprouted hair, and the shape of her face changed. Adrienne's body lengthened, and her hands were suddenly tipped with long, sharp, cat-like claws. Her coat was gold with black spots--a leopard. 

Blair lost his smile and shot a glance toward the captives. Most of them were amazed. Well, he thought ironically, be prepared for another shock. Then he half-Shifted as well. 

It always felt strange, he mused for a second as the change took place. He could feel the collar catch his form and halt the Shift. Then as he looked at Adrienne, he smiled. She must have thought that he wouldn't Shift at all in front of these people. 

"You wanted to dance, cousin, so let's dance," he growled. 

Jim listened to the mutters around him with half an ear until he heard someone say something about Satan. 

Then, without taking his eyes away from the two combatants, he said, "Blair is not some Satanist. He was born this way. He's a good person. If anyone is a minion of the devil, it's Adrienne. She wants to kill him just because her mother saved him instead of herself." 

Then Joel spoke up, agreeing with Jim. "He's right. Blair has helped this department plenty of times. Adrienne is going to kill us all if he doesn't win. So just shut up and pray." 

Jim didn't hear anymore after that because Adrienne and Blair were fighting again. 

Blair blocked two of Adrienne's punches and managed to break through her guard, slashing just below her vest and opening a long, shallow gash. He hissed as he felt her claws rake over his left arm before he could get his hand back. He quickly danced away, and they began circling again. 

Blair felt blood running down his arm and resolved not to look at it. He didn't have the healing ability she did, but he decided to use his empathic ability to guess her next move. 

Waves of hate and rage almost drowned him before he threw his wall back up. Blair sighed inwardly as he decided that even Adrienne didn't know what she was going to do next. Then, as she slowed and tensed to leap, an idea suddenly hit him. They were close to the bomb. All he had to do... 

Adrienne leaped at him, and he rolled back and brought his feet up to send her into the table where the bomb still rested. He rolled with the kick and up onto his hands and arched back into a crouch. Running from the bomb, he drew on magical reserves he didn't even know he had and triggered the magical field the device had been using as a power source. 

As some sort of antenna rose from the bomb's center and began to spray the purple liquid in a high arc, Adrienne screamed. She was quickly covered with the purple chemical. Blair turned and watched as the liquid turned red and ignited. 

Her screams of agony were answered by her followers, who rushed to help her. The spray of chemicals covered them as well, and they began to burn. The detectives from the Major Crimes Unit began looking for fire extinguishers, but there weren't any. 

Blair watched and shuddered. The Golden Fire People, his mind whispered. Then strong arms caught him up in a ferocious hug. 

/blair are you all right love blair/ Jim sent as he began to rub and caress Blair's back. 

Blair sighed and Shifted back. He stared up into his lover's eyes and collapsed.   
  


* * *

Epilogue 

Blair could smell a sharp antiseptic odor. A hospital. Goddess, how he hated hospitals, he thought as he tentatively tried to move his arms and legs. No restraints, he thought with relief. 

He blearily opened his eyes and stared at the people in the room. Simon and Regina were sleeping together on the other bed. Katlyn and Jim were sleeping in chairs on either side of his bed. 

"Hey," he said raspily, "is the city going to hell with all of you here?" 

Jim pulled his chair closer and held up a glass of water. Blair sucked through the straw and sighed with relief 

"Do you know how long you've been out of it?" Jim asked. 

Blair looked at his mate and studied his face. Luggage under the eyes, a scraggly beard, and he looked thinner. 

"Four days," Blair said in a more normal tone as he watched, everyone filed out to give him and Jim some privacy. Regina was taking them out for a drink. 

"You've been drifting in and out for five days, love. Don't worry about the stuff in the warehouse. Regina made everyone promise not to say anything about the Shifting--just that the two of you fought," Jim said with a grin. Tears began to well up in his eyes, and he laid his head on Blair's chest. 

"What is it, love?" Blair whispered. 

"Your electrolytes were imbalanced. Your insulin was off the chart. Your heart stopped twice on the way to the hospital," Jim almost sobbed. "Everyone has been here at least twice, and we've been waiting for you to wake up." 

"Jim, you shouldn't have brought me to a hospital. I would have been fine," Blair said soothingly. 

"Regina said she didn't have the right herbs to give you. They're out of season or something. We told them that Adrienne poisoned you," Jim said as he sat up and wiped his eyes. 

Then the doctor came in. Damn doctors, Blair thought as the doctor told Jim to leave.   
  


* * *

"So, why do I have to meet her?" Daryl whined. 

"Because I love her, and we're probably going to get married," Simon growled. He hadn't mentioned Regina's pregnancy yet. They still had another month before the birth date would be too soon after the wedding. 

"Come on, Daryl, you're going to love her," Blair said with a smile as he knocked at the door. "She taught me everything there is to know about life." 

Daryl snorted. He didn't want to hear about his father marrying a white woman. Then the door opened, and Regina stepped out. 

She was tall, blonde, and talked with an accent. Daryl hated her on sight until she turned to him and said, "Hello, Daryl. I have heard so much about you," and thrust out her hand. 

The hand shake was dry and firm. She had shaken his hand like he'd been a man. Daryl straightened up a bit. It was more than Dad's other girlfriends had done, he thought, I should give her a chance. 

Regina ushered them all in and settled them in her living room. Daryl, however, was busy looking at pictures in the hall. She quickly picked up the phone in the kitchen and dialed a number. 

"Hello," a man with a slight Scottish accent answered. 

Regina frowned and stared at the number in her hand. "Hello, I'm looking for Adam Pierson." 

"Just a second...." 

"Hello," a familiar voice replied. 

"Methos, it's Regina. I have someone you should meet." 

"Regina, why should I traipse around the world to wherever you are?" Methos asked laconically. 

"Because in about ten years he's going to need a teacher with your kind of *expertise*," Regina said with a smile. 

"Where are you?" 

"Cascade."   
  


* * *

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